XPhantom
by BBRAE623
Summary: He saved the world and maintained his identity. Danny has it all. And then loses it in betrayal. He flees, leaving his old life behind, now he starts over with a new group of friends, his new family at the Xavier Institute for gifted youngsters.
1. Headaches

**A/N: Slight AU - TUE happened after PP but he didn't reveal his identity. Get it? Got it? Good.**

* * *

_"No! How could you do this to me? I trusted you! I trusted you Sam! I...I loved you!" I glare at her through the tears in my eyes and curl up into myself. In a soft voice I say "Clockwork was right." I shake my head "He's always right. Why should he be wrong now? Why...why did I trust you?"_

_"Danny," her voice is broken "please, it's for the best." I glare at her, suddenly filled with rage_

_"What was for the best? What part of this is good for anyone? For me? For you? For the town? For all the people that will get hurt without my protection? For all the people that will die?" my heart breaks again, something I didn't think was possible and more tears fall. I can't even look at her "I...I-I promised Sam...I promised and...I have to get out of here, I-" I look up at her defiantly, refusing to show any more weakness before her. "Goodbye Sam, you'll never see_ Dan_ again." I raise my hand and blast her as she screams, terror radiating from her and she tries to move out of the way. She falls to the floor. She's unconscious, so I pick her up and put her in her bed, tucking her in. I kiss her cheek and place my locket around her neck. "Goodbye Sam. I love you." And with that I fly out the window. I never looked back._

A voice breaks me from my sad reverie. It had been a year. The egg was rocking. Today's the day.

"Daniel, please come down, it's time for you to meet the new arrival." Oh, forgot that was today too. I stopped floating near the ceiling and touched down near the Professor

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"We have helped Jean and we have helped you Daniel, and I believe you in turn shall help the others." I shrugged

"Okay, say, where _is_ Jean?" I ask as I walk beside him

"Welcoming the first new arrival."

"What about Storm and Logan?" I feel a twinge in my chest, and in my eyes. It hurts a bit, oh, crap, scratch 'a bit'. The professor turns to me.

"They are out at the moment. Daniel, are you alright?"

"Yeah," I squint and rub my eyes "just a headache, probably just need to dink some water."

"Is it your telepathy? It _is_ fairly new to you, and your mind still may be adjusting." I stop

"No. It's like," its like an intense shooting pain in my freaking head! *Oh, fucking hell!*

"Daniel, I will not tolerate that kind of language, even in your mind, and please, try not to project so loudly."

"Uh, sorry professor, it just," cue pain! "really hurts. AHHH! My head feels like someone drove a railroad spike through it!" make that ten railroad spikes "AH! It's getting worse!"

"Professor? Danny? I have Scott, is everything alright up there?"

"Hi Jean, we're fine." *just some fucking excruciating pain is all.*

"Daniel." the professor warns me as footsteps approach "Language."

"Yeah, sorry." I cringe and hiss. What's wrong with me? "Ahhhh! Jesu-" *Daniel* the professor warns again "-unheimer, darken-lark-fark! Graggle-baggle! Augh! Made up words just aren't as satisfying!" I fist my eyes

"Hey, man, are you ok? Wait, is that Danny Phantom?" new voice, must be Scott...really? I'm in excruciating pain almost collapsed and that's all I can think of? 'Must be Scott', geeze I'm messed up. It hurts more so I press my hands harder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." the pain flares higher *ah f-f-freak? Yeah, that's better than 'fuck'.*

"Daniel." Well crap. "Daniel," I fist my eyes even harder, it really hurts

"Ah, professor, can you cut me a break? It feels like my eyes are about to explode here!"

"Yes, and for good reason too, the pain stopped almost thirty seconds ago, the pain you feel now is because you are pressing your palms into your eyes."

"Huh?" I drop my hands and stand up, opening my eyes "Oh," the pain's gone, mostly "well then." I look up and see a tall guy, brown hair, serious face, looks kinda stretched a bit, and he's wearing some super shades, all red. He has a bag over his shoulder and a leather jacket, blue jeans, blue shirt, oh, and he glowed like a freaking rainbow. The glow was just above his skin and only around the edges of his silhouette. He glowed yellow, blue, a bit of green, and a tinge of red, he had some brown in there and a streak of purple, but overall his main color was blue, wow. "Wow, you always glow like that?"

"Like what?" he asked. Jean put a hand on my shoulder

"Danny, what are you talking about?" I turned to her and we gasped at the same time and then spoke at the same time as well. "Your eyes!"

"You glow!" She was an amalgamation of colors, just like Scott was, except her colors were different and...wait a second, what? "Wait, what about my eyes? I think we should be more concerned about why you two are lit up like Christmas trees."

"Danny!" she rummages through her bag for something and Scott asks

"His eyes aren't usually like that? Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine , I believe young Daniel here has merely discovered a new ability."

"What?" I turn to him and, surprise surprise, he's glowing too "OK, did I miss the part in the dress code about casual Fridays and glowing Tuesdays?"

"Danny," Jean turns me around and hold up a compact mirror "look." Veni Vidi Vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. Or in this case, I came, I saw, I freaked out. My eyes were black.

"My eyes are black," but my iris was still a glowing toxic green "that's...new." I look at my eyes for a bit, then at the resident Christmas trees, mainly the professor. "Sooooo, you guys aren't glowing?"

"I do not believe so Daniel, if you will let me look inside your mind I believe we may be able to solve this fairly quickly. May I?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." I close my eyes and get ready for that weird feeling, that feeling of someone nosing around in your brain

"Daniel, I need your eyes to be open for this to work."

"Huh?" so he can see what I'm talking about "Oh, yeah, sorry." I open my eyes and I can feel the professor in there directing my head and eyes where to go. It's kinda freaky, it feels like you're twitching but...more. It's kinda scary not being in control of the one thing you should be. He leaves my mind.

"Remarkable. It seems you now can see a person's aura, or, their 'spiritual presence' if you will."

"Is that like their souls or something?"

"No, not at all. A person's soul is their core being, it's who they are. An aura is more...a representation of personality or a persons feelings at that moment, it is their energy, their life force." I stare at him and click my tongue.

"Oooookay then." I wonder if I can see it in human form. "Wait a second." Blue-ish white rings from at my waist and went in opposite directions, up and down transforming me from Phantom to Fenton. White to black, green to blue and Hazmat to street clothes. I look around and no one's glowing. "You're not glowing anymore, are my eyes normal now?" I ask Scott, but then I realize he doesn't know what normal is for me.

"Uh, they're blue and white." I smile

"Thanks. Names Danny." I offer him my hand "Welcome to here."

"Scott. 'Welcome to here'?" he raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug

"What? You _are_ here, so I welcome you to it." The professor rolls up, literally

"I must apologize for Daniel, he is most peculiar at times."

"Am not!"

"Your choice of rooms Daniel?" I just cross my arms and pout. The egg in my pocket is practically vibrating. Today's the day.

"No prob," says Scott "he kinda reminds me of my brother."

"Well, you won't be seeing too much more of me."

"Huh, why not?" Today's the day.

"Uh, a guy I know, his name's 'Clockwork', he kinda...sorta...told me to disappear for a while?"

"Uhhh, I'm not really sure what's going on right now."

"That makes three of us." Says Jean "Danny, who's Clockwork?"

"You will find out, in time." great, he's rubbing off on me.

"Daniel, could you please elaborate?" I scratch the back of my neck and think about it

"Uhhh, maybe?" I look around the room for a purple cloak "Uh, Clockwork, if they aren't them who they were supposed to be then please stop me." Everyone is majorly confused, not only at my talking to thin air but also at my...interesting, comment. I close my eyes and reach for that part of myself that's...pink? That's how it feels to me and the only way I can describe it. Invisibility is glass, intangibility is air, flight is wind, and ice...is ice, blasts are green and my wail a feeling, that one when you hear jet noise. Recently my teleportation is smoke, vortex's power is a thundercloud, opening portals is like flexing green, duplication is an intangible stretch almost, and telepathy...is pink. Morphing feels like dying, but just for a second. I reach for pink and the memory I want, and cast it away and into my hand. It feels weird. I open my eyes and see a pink sphere of ectoplasm in my hand. "Hey! I did it right! YES!" Everyone looks at me. "Uh...hrmhrm, yeah, if you want to know why then touch the pink." Everyone looks at me for a moment but then reaches a hand out and touches the pink, and it send them into my memory.

_I'm flying through a giant mass of swirling green and horrible sounds, purple doors of every size shape and description fly by as I head toward my destination. Tortured screams and shouts, laughter, simple conversation, whispers and song, all in every language imaginable drift past my ears, but I'm used to it, a clock tower comes into sight and I touch down just outside of it. A scream sounds near me and a tortured monstrosity flies by, being perused by what looks like a clan of small faeries. I shrug and turn around, going through giant wooden doors into a clock tower, past rooms holding unimaginable wonders, I know, I've seen a few. I had a headache for three weeks after I saw one, that's when I decided to stop snooping around his tower. I walk straight to the room that holds Clockwork's screens, the ghost himself standing, er, floating there._

_"Hello Daniel, I've been expecting you."_

_"Aren't you always?"_

_"Yes." He turns into an infant as he turns around "Before you ask, as I know you will, I am doing this because one day you will show this memory to three people. They will not be Tucker, Sam or young Jasmine. By then two of those three will have turned on you." I try to protest but he just talks over me "When the time comes you will know who they are. Hello, I, am Clockwork, the Master of Time" he turns into an old man "I know everything that ever was, all that is, and all that may, or may not, be. I know you Charles, Jean, and yes, even you Scott, and no, you may not visit me." I am very confused by now_

_"Show what? Who are those people you were talking about.?"_

_"You will know, in time."_

_"Uh, I was kinda hoping you could help me with my history homework."_

_"I will, and you will remember what I say in it's entirety, even marking it on your calender." he turns into a baby "Eighteen months from now, to the day, you will do something, to temper your anger, and nurture Sally. You will remove yourself from the visible spectrum, for a year, feeding Sally your energy, teaching her as well. You will not interact directly with anyone, and you will stay in a room on the highest floor with no door, that only you, and soon after, two others will be able to access. You will be tempted to stop your training, but you must not, for yourself and for Sally. In this way you will learn to control your anger, and prevent yourself from turning into Dan after the betrayal." He's a man_

_"What betrayal? Who's Sally? When will I...what will I do? What about school?" Clockwork gives me a grey egg the size of a baseball_

_"This, is Sally, or at least, it will be. You will be betrayed by the one you love most Daniel, and I suggest you read."_

_"But...she wouldn't...would she? I mean...I can't think about this now. Read?"_

_"They have an extensive library." he pulls out a volume from nowhere titles 'Blade Fiends and You' "I suggest this. They also have a studio to practice your art."_

_"Well, I guess."_

_"Play your guitar."_

_"I _can_ rock pretty hard."_

_"You will think."_

_"Uh, I do that a lot already."_

_"Not like you will you haven't."_

_"Ugh, future talk messes my head up." Clockwork grins and turns into a baby_

_"It won't soon young Daniel, in time." we both say the last part "Yes, you're learning." I groan_

_"So in eighteen months I'll be an invisible hermit for a year? With an egg? What about food and stuff?"_

_"I suggest a_ batsudan_, but__ you will also have many conversations with Miss Grey and young Sally, you could just ask her, telepathically of course. Use your spare time to train you aural sight."_

_"Valery? Wait a second, my what? I don't have telepathy! Or whatever that other thing is!"_

_"Not Valery, Jean, and you will, your sight for instance, you will call it your 'dead eyes', a rather...ammusing name. You will understand."_

_"I will?" he's an old man_

_"Yes, you will." I hold my head in my hands, so not understanding_

_"Okay, what about school then?"_

_"You will learn many things in the nocturnal hours with me as your teacher, from eight P.M. to three A.M. you shall learn. You and Miss Grey shall have no secrets from each other."_

_"Ooookay."_

_"Daniel, when I say no secrets, I mean_ no secrets._ You will share_ everything _that you do with each other.__"_

_"Uh, everything?"_

_"Everything. This goes for you too Miss Grey."_

_"Uh, whoever you are, I am _soooo_ sorry about all of this, but you should probably listen or he'll keep rewinding time until you do what he says."_

_"She appreciates your concern Daniel, and he is quite right , I have done just such things before." He's a man again_

_"This is too weird. I never thought I'd say this but can we just do my homework?"_

The memory faded and the real world bled back into existence. Everyone's looking at me, Jean's a bit freaked out, Scott's just taking it in as part of his new confusing life, and the professor...is thinking. Well crap.

"So, I was thinking, you guys don't have to have a shrine or anything, but could you set some food out after you eat? Maybe in a special spot or something?"


	2. The Months

ONE MONTH

"Danny, stop, I'll make your fucking cookies, just shut the hell up!" Everyone in class stared at me, there were no 'Danny's in our class

"Miss Grey!" I winced

"Yes?"

"Detention, after school."

"Yes sir." *Danny, I'm going to kill you*

*I'm already dead, so you can't*

*Half dead, I'll finish the job, now stop bugging me in school!*

*Okay, okay! I'm sorry, it's just, you're the only person I can talk to besides the professor and he's...well, less than fun. Do you know how boring it is not to talk to anyone for _eight_ hours?*

*What about Sally?*

*She's mostly nocturnal, and I am _not_ going to disturb her beauty sleep, she's worse about it than you.*

*I'm sorry, but you just got me my first detention. Ever.*

*Really? Wow, I got them all the time.*

*Well you're not doing that to me.*

*Okay. Three pi over four.*

*What?*

"Miss Grey, care to answer?"

"Uh, three pi over four?"

"Hmm, correct." sigh "Good to know you can answer questions and not just spout profanities."

*Thanks Danny*

*No problem*

THREE MONTHS

*Sally grows so fast, and she learns fast too, and she's so strong! She takes to Russian Sambo like a duck to water.*

*Those images you send me! She's so cute!*

*Of course she is! Any-who, you never told me about the new kid.*

*Hmm? Oh, well, his name is Kurt, he's blue, he has three fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot. He has a prehensile tail with a spade on the end*

*A what tail?*

*Prehensile...it's like a monkey tail, not a dog tail*

*Oh*

*He's covered in short blue fur, has pure yellow eyes that glow, fangs, pointed ears, can cling to walls and he can teleport.*

*Cool...how's he going to go to school?*

*The professor says he has an idea for some sort of holographic wristwatch.*

*Hmmm...can he make one for me too?*

*Why?* I send her a picture of what I look like without my invisibility covering my scars and I hear a mental gasp *Danny...I never saw...when did you...Danny.*

*I never wanted you to see so you didn't. Having one would be a lot easier than constant concentration on my scars to keep them invisible. Especially if I forget one. I'm not playing the 'musical scars' game again. People notice things...Jean?*

*'Musical scars'?*

*Uh, people noticing my scars coming and going as my concentration loosens. Kinda hard to explain.*

*I'll ask, Danny.*

SEVEN MONTHS

*So then after Spike got arrested we set a trap and got Pietro to admit to the crimes on tape and we got him arrested...Danny? Are you there?*

*Yeah, I just think that it was all so...petty.*

*I guess you have a point. It was just a stupid rivalry, over basketball of all things. To take it this far...it _was_ petty.*

*Hey Jean?*

*Yeah Danny?*

*Can you get me some new clothes if I write a list? And some materials for Sally and me?*

*Sure.*

*Hey Jean?*

_*Yes_ Danny?*

*Do you think anyone will be mad if I made it snow? Sally wants snow.*

*Danny, its April.*

*So?*

EIGHT MONTHS

*JEAN!*

*What?*

*Kitty is in my room! She's touching my stuff! She brought Kurt!*

*So? Make them leave.*

*No direct interaction except us talking! ACK!*

*What? What's wrong?*

*They're abusing my guitar! And they're touching my paintings!*

*Make it cold then.*

*It'll mess with my paintings and my clothes and my guitar and amps and stuff! Can't you just tell them to leave?*

*Can't you just make the floor and everything in the room intangible?*

*They're scaring Sally!*

*I'll get them to leave.*

*...*

*...*

*...*

*Happy now?*

*You have no idea. I owe you so much for this. And Sally says thanks.*

_THE NEXT DAY_

*Danny?*

*Yeah Jean?*

*Did you paint this?*

*If it's a portrait of you, then yes.*

*It's flattering.*

*It's beautiful, just like you.*

*Are you...flirting with me?*

*Oh NO. I am NOT flirting with you! No offense, you're beautiful, but I say that in the way that my _sister_ is beautiful...you actually remind me a whole lot of her. She was tall with long red hair, very intelligent and could read my mind with just a glance...I miss her.*

*Thank you for the painting Danny, and for comparing me with your sister, I can tell you love her and hold her in high regard.*

*No problem Jean...I kinda want to be alone right now.*

*No problem. Danny?*

*?*

*Thank you.*

ELEVEN MONTHS

*!*

*!*

*DANNY! DANNY ARE YOU OK? WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT WAS THAT?*

*Y-you saw?*

*You broadcast it to everyone in the mansion! The new students are panicked!*

*I did? They are?*

*Yes! It was...terrifying!*

*I-I'm sorry Jean. I didn't mean to, I...I'm sorry.*

*Danny?*

*...*

*Danny, what was that? Tell me Danny!*

*...*

*Please?*

*I...it...was me.*

*What do you mean it was you Danny?*

*...*

*Danny, you can't just terrify all of us like that and not just give an explanation!*

*I...you won't like what you find Jean. Do you really need to know?*

*I don't need to, but you owe me. Let me in Danny, let me help you.*

*...*

*Danny?*

*Open your mind, and...please, don't...don't be afraid of me.* The memories flowed, the late nights, the failing grades, the C.A.T. The fights, Clockwork, the future, the fights...the fight. THE Fight. Can't save them, too weak, too soft, too slow, too powerless. The explosion. The terror, the dread, the guilt, the...the shame. Clockwork. Redemption. Joy. Love. So much Love. So much happiness. The talk. The talk. The-

_I was hovering outside Sam's window, I wanted to surprise her with my locket, it had been in the family for a while and I wanted her to have it._

_"I don't like it any more than you do Tucker, but we have to." Tucker? What was Sam talking to him about "You saw what he becomes! You saw Dan! How can we do anything else? He's worse than all the other ghosts, we have to turn him in." What? "I know, I know he's Danny, I know but...I'm afraid. I'm afraid of Danny." a cold hand clenched my heart. No, this was the last thing I wanted. She should never fear me. NEVER. But she...she was...afraid...terrified...of me. "It's already too late Tuck, he's already Dan. He's starting to get the same powers too, the ghostly wail, opening portals. I already called the Guys In White Tuck. They'll catch him, and keep him, and that future...Dan, will never happen." They, she...I...I love her and she...she...why? Why would she do this to me? My heart is shattering. I will never again be okay. She...I loved her. I LOVED her and she...betrayed me. "When they're done with the tests they'll destroy him, and every chance of Dan ever existing...Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I'll miss him. He would want it this way, his life for the world. He'll understand Tucker."_

_"I don't think I will." My voice was hollow, broken, distraught, my face destroyed, just like my heart. Tears were streaming down my face. "Maybe you can explain it to me"_

_"Danny!"_

_"Sam, how could you?"_

_"Danny, listen to me, please just listen-"_

_"No! How could you do this to me? I trusted you! I trusted you Sam! I...I loved you!" I glare at her through the tears in my eyes, falling to the ground and curl up into myself. In a soft voice I say "Clockwork was right." I shake my head "He's always right. Why should he be wrong now? Why...why did I trust you?"_

_"Danny," her voice is broken "please, it's for the best." I glare at her, suddenly filled with rage and stand to face her_

_"What was for the best? What part of this is good for anyone? For me? For you? For the town? For all the people that will get hurt without my protection? For all the people that will die?" my heart breaks again, something I didn't think was possible and more tears fall. I can't even look at her "I...I-I promised Sam...I promised and...I have to get out of here, I-" I look up at her defiantly, refusing to show any more weakness before her. "Goodbye Sam, you'll never see_ Dan_again." I raise my hand and blast her as she screams, terror radiating from her and she tries to move out of the way. She falls to the floor. She's unconscious, so I pick her up and put her in her bed, tucking her in. I kiss her cheek and place my locket around her neck. "Goodbye Sam. I love you." And with that I fly out the window. I never looked back._

*!* tears stream down both of their faces. She had just lived the memory, feeling everything he had felt, as with the nightmare. The betrayal...it was worse than living the fight with Dan. It...it hurt, in a way Dan never could.

*...are you okay Jean*

*!* Jean was still crying, still trying to get over the hurt.

*Shhhhhhh, it's okay Jean, let go. Let go of it, it's not your hurt, not your pain to bear. Give it to me, give me your pain, give me your fear, give me your sorrow.* I had no idea where these word were coming from, but they were working and I could feel something. The feeling in my eyes where I could see an Aura, the twinge in my chest that felt...empty and always kept time with my eyes. I could see Jean's in my head, her eyes, and her Aura, her energy and emotions. I could see the purple and yellow-green, the sad and afraid, the hurt. I could feel it, and I drew it away. I siphoned it from her aura. It gave me such power, such strength, such...joy. That's wrong, I shouldn't be happy to feel her hurt, her...misery. Oh fucking hell, this is exactly what Spectra did. *Oh crap. Jean are you okay? Do you feel alright? Tired? Exhausted...more miserable?*

*No...I...feel...better. Thank you, for whatever you just did.*

*I'm not so sure it was a good thing. Plus you wouldn't feel this way in the first place if it wasn't for me.*

*It's not your fault Danny, none of it was your fault. !*

*What?*

*Nothing, Scott's just here to check on me.*

*I'll leave you alone now. I have to calm Sally down anyways.*

*Don't let it get to you Danny.*

*Thank you Jean, I...thank you.* we separated our minds.


	3. EDay, Paris

_**E-DAY**_

It was the day. It was _today_. It was one year. A whole year. Yesterday was Sally's birthday, she really grew up. How did I survive her? Phewwwwww...just take it easy. Go downstairs and have some breakfast. Maybe get a haircut. Today's Saturday, no one should be up this early, you can just ease into it, show Sally around. I teleport us into the kitchen, a wisp of green energy in my wake and at my arrival. I look around the kitchen, nobody is here. Okay, good. Cereal. Bowls, Trix, spoons, milk. Check, check, check, check. So just sit down, eat and-footsteps. Relax, it's just...people. Why am I so fucking nervous? Someone's here.

"Who are you?" my shoulders tense at the Cajun accent but I force myself to relax. I turn to see a girl in a black tank, a green filmy top, a black skirt with black hose, leather gloves and white streaks in her hair. She sees a guy in a t-shirt and jeans eating cereal with a foot tall eighteen year old demoness. Sally looks eighteen but is actually one, she matured fast and ages slow, she has bat wings, a black spaded tail, black scaly raptor legs from the knees down. From elbow to fingers it looks like she wears black gloves, but it's her skin and her nails are razor sharp and unbelievably strong, seriously, we had to clip them with a sword once. Her hair is long and black, almost to her knees, and her ears are pointed, her eyes are a smoldering orange and she has small fangs in her mouth. Plus she's just really cute.

"Uh, hi."

"Hi, now who are you and why are you eating our food?"

"It's breakfast and we uh, live here."

"So y'all're new?"

"No, been here a while."

"No you haven't, ah've been here a while, and ah've never seen you two before."

"I've been here longer than Scott, almost as long as Jean." Sally tugs on my sleeve

"Who is she?"

"That's Anna-Marie." Rogue crossed her arms and glared at me "Eat your breakfast Sals." Sally shrugged and began her feasting

"That's NOT mah name, and where's your room if you've been here so long?"

"Did Kitty or Kurt ever tell you about a room they found with no doors?" she uncrossed her arms and came close and was up in my face

"Wait, how'd you know about that?"

"We were there when ms nosy and mr blue and fuzzy invaded."

"They said no one was there." she was closer now, oh joy.

"Not a living soul."

"But you just said _y'all_ were there. So which is it? Y'all were there, or 'not a living soul'?" she was glaring at me now. Boy, I sure can make friends.

"Both."

"Who are you again?"

"The names Danny." I point to the girl draining the bowl she could barely get her arms half way around "And this is Sally." I say as I rub her head. She's eating, she doesn't care.

"Rogue." she eased up a bit "So how do you know Scott and Jean?"

"I only met Scott once, on the day he got here, I met Jean when she and the professor came to meet me. I talk with Jean a lot."

"I like Jean." comments Sally who's on another helping of cereal

"Uh-huh...if you've been here as long as you say you have...then do you know why Jean is always leaving full meals around the kitchen on that weird plate?" I scratched the back of my neck

"Uh, yeah, that's sort of for us." she leans on the counter

"Why?"

"I sorta don't...interact with people, and Sally is always with me so she makes our food for me and sets it out sometimes." she backed up a bit

"And why is that?"

"Training. It's over now."

"No, why does she do that for you?"

"We're friends." Kitty walked in, covered in pink and blue, hair up in a ponytail

"Hey Rogue, hey who's this?" she spots Sally "And what is that!"

"Sally is not a 'that' shes a 'her', and what Sally is is none of your concern." Rogue rolls her eyes

"Say's his name is Danny. He also says he's been here longer than either of us."

"Chya right, how come we've never seen you before?" I shrug and tell her

"I didn't want you to." Rogue got up from the counter

"Now hold up, you said you were training and that's why we didn't see you."

"I was, my training was not to let anyone know I even existed."

"But you said you talked to Jean!"

"Jean already knew about me, and she never let on that she knew so it was fine." A voice from the hall called

"Alright, who's being this noisy this early?"

"Hey Scott."

"Woah...Danny? Is that you?"

"Yup."

"Wow, I haven't seen you since I got here."

"I'm surprised you actually remember me, we only met for like five minutes."

"Wait," said Rogue "you know him?"

"Yeah he's been here longer than _I_ have, almost as long as Jean. And Danny, well, you were in agony and then you freaked me out with that eye thing and then you delivered a prophecy. It's not exactly something I forget. Especially when I meet a superhero."

"Superhero?" BAMF Kurt was on the table "Where?"

"Hey fuzzy," he looked back at me "mind getting your ass out of my face?"

"Oh, sorry." BAMF he's sitting at the table "Now where's the superhero?" I raise my hand

"Yo."

"You? How old are you?"

"Seventeen." Kurt and Kitty were disbelieving and Rogue was, reserved or something, but she still looked irked.

"Okay, so vhy do you think you're a super hero?" he asked me

"Save people's lives when I can, and I've saved the world...lets see...Pariah, Undergrowth, Freakshow, Disastroid...Dan, five times. One of those times I saved this time line and another I saved the fabric of reality...although the reality one I altered it so none of it ever happened, so it's kinda arguable if I did anything at all if I made sure than there was nothing to do in the first place. Kinda the same thing with the time line time."

"Waaaaaah?" everyone was staring at me

"Yeah, temporal histories with alternate time lines kinda suck. You get used to it though."

"That's kinda scary."

"You have no idea. Hey Scott,"

"Yeah?"

"You remember that grey egg I showed you?"

"Yeah, you said you named it Sarah or something."

"Sally." her head pops up "I named her Sally, and this is her." I gesture with my hand

"Huh, she's a cute little thing isn't she?" Sally stands up and looks at Scott, scrutinizing for a moment, then she belches flames in front of his face. Kurt laughs and I smirk.

"That was rude Sally." she shrugs and I feel a twitch in my brain "Jean's up."

"How do _you_ know?" asked Rogue

"All shall be revealed, in time."

"Kid, you gotta stop being so cryptic." came the calm gruff of Logan

"Hey Logan."

"Deadbeat." He looked at Sally and decided not to comment "Now that you're here maybe we can kick these kids into shape. None of then have gotten past your old high score in the danger room. Whaddaya say, hows about a little you on everyone else?"

"Just the students right? I don't think I can handle two telepaths."

"Yeah, yeah, wimp." Rogue went over to Logan

"Woah, woah, woah, are you saying that he's good enough to take on all of us?"

"Better, as long as he hasn't gotten soft." Rogue seethed

"I've gotten better."

"We'll see deadbeat."

"If you don't stop calling me that then you'll wake up in Antarctica."

"Try it and you're dead punk."

"Too late."

"Oh hardy-har."

"Danny? Is that you?"

"Jean?" Sally jumps up immediately. I get up and hug her then return to my breakfast "Haven't done that in a year. Jean, I want you to meet-"

"Sally! Oh my gosh, you're even cuter in person! Come here you little blade fiend!" Sally jumps into the air and tackles Jean's neck in a hug which Jean returns, with interest. Sally perches on Jeans shoulder and she laughs, a tinkling sound like glass bells being rung.

"Someone's happy to see you." I can't hide my grin, so I don't try to. "I got up early so I wouldn't see anyone, why is everyone up?"

"Danny, it's seven thirty." Sally has braided Jean's hair now, still laughing, and starts to un-braid it

"So?"

"Everyone usually gets up at five or six."

"It's _Saturday_ Jean." Sally is now hiding in Jean's hair, giggling

"And _we_ have a danger room training session."

"Hello Daniel." I look and see Storm coming in

"Hi Ororo, hi Evan."

"Yo, who's this Auntie O?"

"One of my first students. And the only one I have taught everything to. He has challenged my teaching skills."

"What do you mean Auntie?"

"He asked me to explain something I have never had to explain before, not in a way so others could understand."

"If you're so high and mighty, hows about a little demonstration?" asked Rogue. I looked at her. I get up and walk to her, I smile and get too close to her. She stares back defiantly, like this is some sort of challenge. It's not but...

"I could do any number of impressive things, but to you the most impressive, or most shocking at least, I think would be this." I cup her cheek in my hand, and before she can gasp, I take her lips. It's not a chaste kiss, nor is it terribly intimate, it lasted for a number of seconds, and she was frozen for them all. Everyone is looking, waiting for me to collapse or to scream, but I don't. Instead, I break the kiss, still smiling at a shocked Rogue, and walk out of the room, whistling, leaving her frozen. Sally is having hysterics. As I was leaving I heard Logan say

"The kids got some brass balls."

"Logan!" Ororo chastised. I chuckle, Sally laughed harder.

*Sally, home, form.* Sally kisses Jean's cheek, shoots off her shoulder and dives into my body. INTO. She actually lives in me. She has a bed, but she lives inside of me. *So is she going to kill me now?* I thought at Jean

*I'm not sure, but she's blushing pretty hard.*

*She should be, that was some of my best work.*

*Why'd you kiss her?*

*Would you believe me if I said I had no real idea?*

*That depends on what your 'not real' idea is.*

*#sigh# She was really pretty.*

*So you kissed her?*

*Yes?*

*Yes.*

*I just said that.*

*No, I meant, yes, she's going to kill you.

*Oh, thanks for that.*

*It's not exactly a _good_ habit. Where are you going?*

*To visit the Brotherhood, I want to talk to them.*

*Why?*

*Wanda.*

*Oh...Want one of us to come with you?*

*No, I think it would be better if I went alone. She doesn't exactly like you guys.*

*Alright, just be careful.*

*Aren't I always?*

*No.* I chuckle and it carries over. By now I'm at the entrance to the mansion.

*Later Jean.*

*Later Danny.* I walk along the grass, letting the sunlight hit my skin, not just pass through it. It feels good. I'd forgotten how good. It felt so good I hardly registered my walk until the shadows of a large oak snapped me from my reverie. I looked up to see the Brotherhood house. I sighed and knocked on the door. Tap tap tap. Nothing. Knock knock knock. Silence. BANG BANG BANG.

"GO AWAY! IT'S TOO EARLY!"

"I'm here to talk to Wanda!" Three seconds later and a muscled guy with tussled long brown hair and an angry face answered the door in his boxers.

"What the hell do you want with her?"

"I came to talk."

"Why?"

"So we'd have an understanding."

"Why?"

"So I don't kill everyone." he bristled

"Is that a threat?" he growled, but I shook my head

"No, it's a precaution, and I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen." He glared at me and I smiled. His glare was far from the worst I'd ever seen

"She's upstairs."

"Can you bring her down?"

"Are you crazy?" I shrug

"Maybe." then a weasly voice calls

"Yo! Who's at the door?"

"No one Toad!" he thought for a moment "Hey Tolansky! Tell your 'cuddlebumps' she has a visitor!" A small guy jumped up the stairs like his namesake and a moment later, accompanied by a few choice words, some screaming, and a few loud bangs, and a girl in scarlet attire with military short hair almost, descended the stairs.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Danny."

"And why do you want to talk to me?"

"So I don't kill anyone." she raised her eyebrows

"Come again?"

"I've heard your powers alter probabilities, is that right?"

"Who are you?"

"Danny." White rings form at my waist and traveled up and down my body, transforming me into my new persona. Their eyes widened at my new ghost form, I wear a hooded white duster, with all white pants, skintight white shirt, combat boots and of course fingerless gloves. I have a simple white ceramic face mask like the one in _Gladiator_ where Maximus the Merciful is named, minus the tear drops and neck guard and with a large thin 'X' across it. It has two eye holes but no light can escape past the mask in my hood. The mask comes into existence when my hood is up and is the only thing visible inside of it, everything else looks like empty darkness, when my hood is up the same effect happens with my duster. My belt buckle is a simple silver circle with an 'X' in it, the background black so the 'X' stands out. The end of my duster didn't move even in the wind and the inside of it was emptiness. Literally. If you went into its fold there was a good chance you weren't coming out. A bardiche slung across my back, I hatched it from an egg and named it Sally, yeah, the same Sally, this is her second form, her weapon form. In weapon form she is a bardiche, or basically a giant pole ax, she has a black pole, a white metal body and a black sharpened edge. Along the side of her body is the impression of a small 'DP' symbol, the only remnant of my past life and in a deep blue the stylized name 'Sally' is on both sides. My voice echoed in the space it shouldn't have as I pull Sally off of my back. "But you can call me Necro." Voice echo. It adds a serious creep factor.

"What do you want?" I pull down my hood, letting my mask fade

"To talk."

"About?"

"The future."

"How do you mean?"

"Well," I look around at everyone "do you mind if we go somewhere more private for this?" she looked at me, considering for a moment.

"Fine, where?"

"Any place on earth." I put Sally back, change back to Fenton and extend my hand to her

"Oh really?" I nod "How about the top of the Eifle tower?"

"Done. Take my hand and we'll be there." she extended her hand, hesitantly, and lay her hand on my own. The instant her skin touched my glove, green enveloped us, and then a sudden wind blew it all away. The sun was up in the sky, just past the halfway mark and slowly descending, France sprawled before us.

"Wow." was all she said for a long time. I leaned back against the tower. I could wait. We stood there, looking at the city, buffeted by the wind for a long time. The sun was in a different place now. "What time is it?"

"New York? Eight thirty four. Here? Two thirty four."

"What did you want to talk about?"

"You alter probabilities, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think...let me start over. I've been to the future, one of the many possible futures. There are three main futures for me; in one I'm a hero, in another I'm dead, in the final main possibility, I'm the greatest evil the world has ever known."

"How evil?" she asks without turning around.

"I eliminate all life on earth." that got her to turn around.

"Uh-huh, how?"

"With my bare hands." That got a reaction out of her "Listen, I want to make a deal with you; we don't fight each other with our powers. If we find ourselves about to fight each other, we don't, we just don't. My two reasons are that I don't want you to accidentally turn me evil, and...my powers are dangerous. If some of my offensive powers go haywire, I'll most likely kill someone, maybe even everyone, and if I'm fighting you, it's a good chance it might be you, so...truce?"

"How dangerous?" I sighed

"I could level all of Paris with a single scream, right now. I could plunge everything within miles of me into a new ice age. I could rip open the fabric of this dimension and let the dead overwhelm the earth." She looked mildly impressed, but still so angry

"So, no fighting?"

"Not with our powers. If we're forced to fight, absolutely_forced,_ the we do hand to hand, swords, something, just...no altering my probabilities. Deal?"

"Deal."

"You wanna get back to your home now?"

"Not quite yet."

"You eat breakfast yet?"

"You buying?"

"Sure."

"Yaaaaaaay!" we both look to see Sally Dancing upon the air, in her demon form, flames in her wake. This should be fun to explain.

_**Midnight Paris**_

"So we should be getting back now." I said as I sat on top of the tower. Sally is sleeping in my arms. Our visit had started here and we'd agreed to end it here.

"Okay." the lights of the city made it glow

"_Are_ you ok?" the cool air caressing our hair, adding chill to our thoughts and words.

"I'm fine, I'm just going to miss this city."

"I can always bring you back." I told her "You just have to ask."

"No, it's...it's fine."

"Ready to go back?" she sighed

"No, but let's do it anyways." she took my hand and after a last look at the city, she nodded to me. We were enveloped in green and when the smoke cleared we were standing in front of the Brotherhood boarding house.

"So, I'll see you later Wanda."

"And I will see you later Danny." I teleported into the main foyer of the house

*Danny! You're back!*

*Hi Jean.*

*Where were you?*

*Talking with Wanda.*

*I know _that,_ but _where_? I couldn't reach you!*

*I'd be surprised if you could. We were in Paris for the day.*

"*PARIS! YOU WENT TO PARIS WITHOUT ME?*" it was shouted both vocally and mentally.

"She woke up Sally with that one." after I shush her back to sleep I ask "Is it really that big of a deal?" Logan passed by and said

"Yup, you're in trouble now bub."

"Thanks Logan." Suddenly she was at the top of the stairs and Kitty was with her and Amara wasn't far behind.

"Wow, guess you're not on the track team for nothing."

"You went to Paris?" Kitty shrieked

"Why? Why Paris?" Jean asked. I shrug

"I told her I wanted to talk in private, she asked where I told her anywhere in the world and she picked the top of the Eiffel Tower." they were staring at me "In her defense I don't think she actually expected me to get her there." I shrug again then mutter "Oh well, at least I got to go to Rome." By now more girls had shown up

"ROME?" they all shrieked

"Yes! Yes! Rome! What? What is _with_ you? Sally wanted pizza and where better to go? I mean Chicago has deep dish and NYC is good but, why not Rome?" they were just staring, still staring, eyes almost bulging. "You guys are weird, I'm going to go get my guitar." three steps away from the chattering girls, all discussing where they wanted me to take them all, I heard

"Hey deadbeat!" Logan, wasn't he going somewhere else? "I forgot, you missed introductions. Six sharp in the danger room tomorrow morning. And if you don't watch it you'll be a Taxi service for everyone looking for a vacation, not that I wouldn't mind goin' back to Canada myself but I'd take my _bike._"

"Oh joy."

"Oh, and Rogue was lookin' for ya too."

"Can this get any better?"

"Waaaaaah!" I turned just in time to see Scott slip on an iced floor and a bowl of soup fly through the air, miss me and land on Logan. His claws come out in a small 'snick' that seems so loud as he turns to Scott.

"Well, I guess it can." I said smiling and went to my room hearing Scott screaming and Logan growling as he chased him.


	4. Song Remains the Same

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**_

My eyes shoot open. I'm not happy.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**_

"UGH!" my alarm *ZAP* is no more. What time is it? 5:30? Ugh. twenty minute shower. Then Danger room. I repeat 'ugh'. I lay Sally down on my pillow and slip into my shower.

"Mmmmm...shower feel good." It was over all too quickly though, phase the water off and that saves time. Get dressed. Boxers. Blue jeans. Black wife beater. Socks...sock. I like having only one sock on...don't know why. Time to go to the D-Room. Time to walk? I look at my watch. 5:59:56. 57. 58. 59. 6:00:00. Hmm, convenient. I teleport to the DR and look around sleepily. Everyone was there to make introductions, or watch while I did. Lets see - Jean, Scott, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Tabitha, Evan, Bobby, Ray, Roberto, Jamie, Rahne, Jubilee, Amara, Ororo and Logan.

"Hey deadbeat,"

"Hi Logan."

"Get yer ass over here and give us a little demo." I shrug

"Okay."

"And two sock or none, choose, that drives me crazy."

"Okay." I'm too tired for this. I take off my sock and put it in my pocket. "Hi, I'm Danny. I've been clean for four years." Logan's hand smacks the back of my head

"Knock it off deadbeat" I glare at him..it's way too damn early for this.

"I paint, read and am so musically talented that I'm my own band." Evan snorts

"Yeah right. Five bucks says he can't even play two songs." I glare and call him out

"Five bucks it is, right before dinner. You game?" he's cocky

"Of course, just make sure you have five dollars ready for me."

"Whatever." Great, now I have to play for someone...the mouth, not the smartest thing to use when not yet awake. "Anyways, like I said, I'm Danny and I have too many powers."

"Like, how many do you have?" Kitty? Probably...too tired to tell.

"Dunno, wanna count?"

"I do!" Tabby? Was she here? Yeah, probably

"Okay." I'm so groggy "Invisibility, intangibility, flight, enhanced strength, slight invulnerability, a higher healing factor, ecto-blasts, ecto-shields, ecto-energy manipulation, cryo-blasts, ice manipulation, eye blasts both ecto and cryo," deep breath "cloning, limited telepathy and telekinesis, teleportation to anywhere, limited weather control, I can see and feed from people's auras, or emotional energies some might call it, and then there's my ghostly wail."silence "How many is that Tabby?"

"Uh, nineteen, twenty? I wasn't sure if the whole aura thing counted as two different things."

"Lets say it's nineteen, then make it twenty-one because I forgot about opening portals and overshadowing people." she gave me a look that said 'overshadowhatnow?' "I can posses people." people backed away a tiny bit and I roll my eyes "I'm not gunna _do_ it," I tell them, jeeze, what did they think of me? "much." okay, so maybe, _maybe_ they're a bit justified, but the pranks wouldn't be _that_ bad...okay so I can't even lie to myself, they _would_ be that bad...but it would be _so_ worth it. A hand shoots up, Bobby.

"You do realize you just named like, half of our powers right?" I nod wearily

"Yup."

"When did they show up?"

"Lab accident when I was fourteen." They want more but I won't tell them, not now.

It's dinner time, so of course Evan gathered everyone in the back yard for everyone to witness my pitiful attempts at music. I was going to enjoy this. Everyone is in the back yard waiting and as I get past the crowd I keep walking and let three clones walk out of me and we create a five foot tall angled ectoplasmic stage under us. The four of us reach into the stage and pull out a mic and stand, two took guitars, a drum set and speakers, all acid green and glowing. While my three clones manned an instrument each I took the mic and spoke into it

"For this song I need a reluctant volunteer." My eyes fall on Rogue, I whisper to Sally who claps and flies off and as Rogue tries to back away Sally drags her forward and sets her on the stage. She resisted at first but Super strength does have its benefits. When we got her on the stage I made a throne for her to sit on and she pouted and put her head in her fist looking off to the side as if she were forced to do this...okay, she was, but still, Sally looked cute sitting cross legged on top of her. "Hello, my name is Danny, I'm here to win five dollars then eat dinner so this one is for you Rogue!" She gave an exasperated sigh as my clones counted off

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Go!" We began to rock with Kryptonite by Three Doors Down

"I took a walk around the world  
To ease my troubled mind  
I left my body laying somewhere  
In the sands of time  
But I watched the world float  
To the dark side of the moon

...

If I go crazy then will you still  
Call me Superman  
If I'm alive and well,  
Will you be there a-holding my hand  
I'll keep you by my side  
With my superhuman might  
Kryptonite  
Yeah!"

After I finished playing the song everyone but Evan, Rogue and Logan cheered so I put my fist in the air for a second and Rogue rolled her eyes. I smirked

"This next one...is for me, and every one of you." that got me some looks until I start playing Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

"I walk a lonely road  
The only one that I have ever known  
Don't know where it goes  
But it's home to me and I walk alone

...

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me  
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating  
Sometimes I wish someone up there will find me  
'til then I walk alone..."

More applause and cheering

"Sally likes! Sally likes!" She giggled some more and claps her hands on top of Rogue's head. She insisted on talking like a four year old, and I let her because...well...she really is cute.

"Ororo, can you step up on stage for a moment?" she shoots me a quizzical look but flies to the stage beside me "Good. Now, look pretty. Excellent, you already are!" she smirks and shakes her head at my antics but says nothing. I turn to the crowd "Evan, if you can sit through this you don't have to give me my money." he looks at my evil grin as I start playing, ten seconds in he recognizes the song - Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne, only I changed the lyrics a bit. Ororo laughs good naturedly, Logan stares hard at me, Tabby cat-calls and Evan of course is bright red

"Evan's Aunt has got it goin' on!  
Evan's Aunt has got it goin' on!  
Evan's Aunt has got it goin' on!  
Evan's Aunt has got it goin' on!"

For the first two lines he's too shocked to do anything, then he flushes bright red, _then_ he shoots a spike for my head. I laugh and hide behind Ororo, who is still laughing, while Evan shouts at me. The stage lowers to the ground and everything I created dissipates. Ororo leaves and Evan holds me by my collar

"You are _so_ dead man!"

"No, I'm only half dead!"

"What?" he shouts

"You don't know?" Sally asks from atop her new perch A.K.A. the top of _Evan's_ head.

"Know what!" I look at Ororo and Logan

"You guys never told anyone?"

"Kid, it's your past, your story."

"Like, what's he talking about?" Kitty asks Rogue

"Ah don't know, but we're gunnah find out." the students surround me. They want to know.

"What were you talking about?" Evan asks, he's calmer now. I look around and address the group.

"Guys, I'm not a mutant." they look at me confused for a bit. "That lab accident I told you about, it didn't trigger my powers or mutate me." I extend my hand into the air and think *Sally, form.* Without another thought she flies into the air and stretches to become her weapon form, my bardiche. As she lands in my outstretched hand white rings form around my body causing Evan to drop me in surprise as I change into Necro. My hood is up, everything about me is un-naturally still. I crouch upon landing, then slowly stand up, head cocked to the side. Nothing is disturbed, my clothes and all of my body remains deathly still. No one speaks in the supreme silence. My voice echoes like a whisper though the crowd "It killed me."


	5. A Good Day

Needless to say everyone freaked out about that last bit. It was a week before half of them stopped avoiding me, Kurt in particular. Another few days till they weren't creeped-out...mostly. I sulked to Wanda a few times and she ignored me. But it was the companionable ignored, like 'I accept you're here and don't yell at you for eating my food but I won't say a word to you' ignoring, not 'I don't want to deal with it so go the fuck away' ignoring. There's a difference...probably. Maybe. I _think_ there is. Yeah, there probably is. Am I talking to myself? Either way, we both laughed as Sally chased Toad around, tormenting her new 'playmate' with her 'pretty lights' A.K.A. Hell-fire.

School starts today. This should be...fun. Sally either causing havoc in my head or back at the institute, human interaction, not being able to beat the crap out of things on a daily basis. I never realized how therapeutic ghost fighting was. I also never realized how angry I got until I couldn't take it out on something. The year of seclusion helped, but I was still a giant ball of irritation inside and the smallest poke would bring it burning to fury. I have it under control...mostly. Not like I'm the Hulk or anything...I retain my intelligence, so I'm worse. Okay, teleport to the school invisibly, find some place to become visible, get my schedule, act like I'm lost a bit...nah, I'll just say Jean gave me a tour. She did technically, I just wasn't there with her physically, so really, it's not a lie.

"Daniel James Fenton." Someone was speaking, I gotta stop spacing out. "Good, now that I have your attention, maybe you can tell the class a little about yourself."

"Hi, my name is Danny and I'm seventeen." I've saved the world from certain doom. "I like to play rock music, paint and read." I have powers beyond your comprehension. "I've traveled all over the world without getting lost but if you give me simple directions down the street I will get lost for hours on end. I don't know why, personally I think the world just likes laughing at me." that got a few laughs. I was being serious. "I'm warning you now, I _will_ act weird. I've been alone for a year. If I act weird just tell me." I have seen wonders that would humble some, drive others insane. Thank you Clockwork.

"Good, now does anyone have any questions for Danny?" Hands went up

"Uh, okay. You I guess."

"Where did you travel?"

"Uh, honestly If I named everywhere I went I'd be here till school was out. Some of the places include the Amazon, Egypt, Brazil, Ireland, Canada, Greenland, Spain, Japan, China, Chile, the Ukrain, Romania, Italy and most recently, before I came back to the US, I was in France." about a week and a half ago "I went more places too and lots of places in the countries I already told you about, but there are just too many right now." some people were impressed. "You next."

"Why did you travel?"

"Personal shit."

"Fenton!"

"Yeah, yeah language. I told you I'd act different didn't I? I just have to get back to society's norm. Part of that is cursing. So sorry Whale-man." people laughed

"'Whale-man'? It's Balooka."

"Isn't that a type of whale?"

"No."

"Oh." I shrug "Okay then. You there." I say before I can get in trouble. Not with him, I don't care about that. Jean however, she'd nag me to death.

"Why were you alone for a year?"

"I had to meditate to get my anger under control."

"What?"

"Wherever I went people decided to pick fights with me for no reason at all, and I could vent my rage beating the crap out of them."

"Fenton!"

"Yeah, yeah." the phone rang and he answered it

"I have to talk to the principal, continue your introduction and no more cursing!" We all waited till he left the room

"Any-who, then for some reason,the fights stopped happening, and I was still angry. I didn't realize how much of an angry person I'd become until I didn't have my outlet. So, in order to prevent from blowing up on random people, I went into seclusion for a year. The only person I occasionally talked to was Jean Grey, and that was just so I wouldn't fall behind in school." everyone was looking at me. Was I being strange? "So, yeah, the moral of this story would be don't get me angry and you're fine."

"You are so full of it!" a random student calls out. I sigh.

"And you would be?"

"Name's Dillon, I'm Duncan's brother." Jean's meat headed asshole friend? He has a brother? "I don't believe you. If you really fought that much you'd have the scars to prove it man. Where are yours?"

"Really? You want me to strip down here? Perv." he got red in the face and students laughed. I hold up my image inducer. "Hey class, see this? Looks like a watch right? That's because it IS a watch. But that's it's secondary function. It's primary function is a holographic image inducer." blank stares "It can change my appearance." skeptical faces and some people thinking I'm insane. "The professor back at the institute invented it. It covers up my scars so I can walk around without people staring at me and trying to feel me all the time."

"Okay, now I KNOW you're full of it."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, that kinda thing just doesn't exist yet."

"Yes it does. I'll prove it. Pickle boy."

"PICKLE BOY?"

"Yeah, like 'DILL pickles', y'know, cause your name's 'Dillon'." he fumes as I take off my shirt. There were a few murmurs. Fighting ghosts, better than a total gym, sorry Chuck. A cat call comes out

"Way to go Sexy Zom-boy!"

"Tabitha?" she was in this class?

"We gotta talk later Z. By the pool. With your shirt off." a few giggles

"Uh, yeah, sure, back on topic." I return to the rest of the class, just staring at the shirtless boy "And Clockwork said, 'Let there be Scars'." I turn off the inducer and there is a collective gasp. I know what they're seeing. Claws. Knives. Bullet holes. Fire burns. Acid burns. Skin deformed, from bones breaking though and from having chunks torn away. Stitches. A hell of a lot of stitches. The scars cover me. You cant place a hand on me without encountering some type of scar. Sometimes you couldn't put a finger on me through all of them lacing together. not just my chest. My arms, my neck, my face. Everywhere. Admittedly my head is better than the rest of me and thankfully my crotch is relatively safe and I have all the parts I'm supposed to. And, bonus, they're in working order. With my healing ability, a lot of it is just superficial, but the scars stay all the same. I hold my arms out and spin around letting them get the full picture.

"Okay, I'll admit that watch does what you say it does, but how do I know you didn't just turn it on?" I sigh and take off my watch "Yo Tabbs! Catch!" I throw it at her and she catches it. I look at Dillon who's face is ashen just like everyone else's. Not Tabby though, she tried to steal my watch when I fell asleep on the couch and we'd already gone over the whole 'scars' thing. I give him my best insane grin, which admittedly, I'd practiced quite a lot. "Am I still full of it pickle boy?"

"How the hell are you even alive after all of that?" I laugh and put my shirt on

"That's highly debatable. In fact, Tabitha thinks I'm a Zombie, but for other reasons entirely." the class turns to Tabitha, so she puts on a fake Romanian accent and hunches over saying

"If you have seen as I have seen-" then busts out into laughs

"Hey Tabbs."

"Yeah Z?"

"The watch?" she looks at it then grins

"Nuh-uh, I want something first." of course she does

"Of course you do. What do you want?"

"I want what you gave Rogue." I feel like blushing. I want to. But I don't "And I want you to take me wherever I want for a week."

"One trip."

"Five days."

"Two trips."

"Three days."

"Three trips."

"Two Days."

"Three minutes and three trips."

"Deal." she tosses me my watch and I put it on, becoming flawless Danny once more. The teacher walks in just then and tells me to go to my seat in the back. Interesting cooking class. He's in such a huff he doesn't realize how strange the class is acting, everyone quiet, everyone staring at me, everyone looking freaked out. I take a seat next to Tabitha and whisper

"I never said where, I just promised three trips Tabby." I grin at her as she frowns "How do you feel about...Greenland, the Sahara and...Ohio?"

"Two minutes, I don't steal your watch and I choose where I go." she whispers back

"Deal." Who knew cooking class could be so fun? "Hey, Kitty likes to cook, right?"

"Yeah but she was banned after the stone cake incident last year."

"Over one cake?"

"And several instances of accidental poisoning." my eyes go wide. Dear lord, I thought only my mom could do so bad.

"Anything she make try to bite back yet? Or gain sentience?" Tabby looks confused for a moment.

"No, why?"

"Then I can handle it. My mom's food comes alive when you try to eat it." Tabitha started to laugh but I stopped her. "I'm serious. Once, a tribe of hot dogs escaped and lived in the walls. They worshiped a turkey mom brought to life one thanksgiving until we destroyed it, then they tried to stage a coup and liberate everything in the fridge. We stopped them and sentenced them to death by way of my dad eating them." Tabitha stared at me for a bit. Then she burst into uncontrollable laughter for a few minutes. When she calmed down I asked "Wanna know the really funny part?" she tried to wave me down "It really happened." she laughed some more and slowly regained herself.

"I-know-it-h-ha-ha-happened-hahahaha, that's what makes it so funny!" she said laughing some more. It was an interesting first period. Second and third passed in a similar fashion but minus the asshole and the whole 'scars' show. People were beginning to talk though. And then...LUNCH! Kurt was sitting and talking to some girl, Amanda I think, at the mutant table, so I walked up behind him

"Hello Kurt." he turns and begins

"He-AAAHH! Y-y-you! Vhat do you vant?" I put my hand on his shoulder and he flinches.

"Just to say hi to you and your lovely..."

"Girlfriend." she supplies "My name is Amanda. Judging from the way Kurt's shaking you're Danny right?"

"Yeeeeeess."

"You mind not terrorizing my boyfriend?"

"But it's so much fun." she gives me a reproving look "Okay, okay. Spoilsport." I turn Kurt to face me. "Hey Kurt." My eyes turn black and I see the sickly yellow green permeating his aura. I look at him with me black and blue eyes and take a long deep breath, inhaling his fear, taking it into me. It tasted good. When I was done I closed my eyes and and smiled. When my eyes were open again they were normal, Kurt was a bit tired and he was looking a little confused, but not afraid anymore. I felt fantastic.

"What did you just do to him?" Amanda asks. She's a little panicky but that's to be expected.

"I ate his fear. It was delicious by the way, he really was terrified of me."

"Is...is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, a little tired, and pretty calm for a while but other than that he's perfectly okay."

"Why did you even come over here?"

"Because I know Kurt's afraid of me and..." I scratch the back of my neck a little sheepishly "I kinda forgot my lunch."

"You terrified him for _lunch_?" she practically screeches

"Well, yes, and it will help him get over his fear of me, if I fed on his happiness then he'd be a mass of tears and hate right now. Besides, negative emotions taste better." Amanda looks at me like she wants to tell me to do something anatomically impossible and I hold my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm gone." I walk away, waving over my shoulder "Bye Kurt, thanks for lunch!" I spot a person walking across the lawn towards an old tree with lots of shade "Hey Wanda!" she glances my way and keeps on walking. I'm halfway to her when a hand on my shoulder stops me. Scott. Of course.

"Danny," he's panting. He really booked it over here "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was going to ask Wanda on a lunch date."

"What! Why? She's with the Brotherhood Danny, you can't trust her."

"Okay, I won't, but you don't necessarily need to trust someone to grab a burger now do you?"

"You can't just leave the school!"

"Yes I can, I can even leave a duplicate here in case I'm gone longer than expected."

"What, Danny you can't-" I phase my shoulder from his grip

"Scott, it's fine." *Plus you _do_ realize I can wipe this from your memory, don't you?*

*But you won't* cam Jean's voice in both of our heads.

*Spoilsport. Have you been talking to Amanda or something?*

*No, I just like my friends not to brain damage each other.*

"Brain damage!" came Scott's worried call

"Oh relax, I'm getting better. Besides, you're already brain damaged aren't you?"

*Danny.*

*I was just joking, and really, what's the harm in a small lunch date?*

*Where would you go?*

*I was thinking of taking her to Japan.* there was silence.

*Japan?*

*I hear they have good sushi. But that's only if she says yes, which she won't if you two don't let me go and _ask_ her!* Jean talks to Scott and he goes back to her

*Just be careful Danny.*

*I will Jean.*

"Hey." I whip around, Wanda "Are you in the habit of screaming someones name and not talking to them?"

"Uh, sorry, I kinda got sidetracked by Scott and Jean. They think if I ask you on a lunch date then the world will end. I of course argued that it would only blow up the moon but they were obstinate." she raised an eyebrow at me

"You done?" the way she says it I nearly blush

"Yeah, I'm done. Hey Wanda, how do you feel about Sushi?"

"...Where?"

"Mito, Japan?"

"...Okay. How are we getting out?"

"Come around the side with me." she followed me around the side of the building and I put my hand on her shoulder and duplicated. A giant white ring formed at our waists and when it split up and down creating another me with his hand on another Wanda's shoulder.

""What the hell?"" both Wanda's said at the same time

"I cloned you." I started off

"And you have complete control over your clone." said my clone.

"You think at it what you want and it will do it."

"Like think 'act like me' and we will."

"Clones don't have the same needs."

"But we have all the same abilities, except of course, cloning."

"So _we_ can go out to lunch."

"And _we_ can stay here and talk."

"It's like two lunch dates at once."

"The best part is that when we dissipate, you get all our memories."

"So no missing out."

"But if the the original me uses too much energy us clones can unintentionally be called back and used for energy."

"So I have to be careful. But I've mastered it by now." Both Wanda's looked at each other then smacked both of me on the back of our heads.

"That's fucking annoying." O(riginal) Wanda said "So stop it."

"Okay, no more taking turns then. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, she's ready." C(lone) Wanda said

"Is she really like me?" OW said

"Of course I am. Just go get sushi. We don't want anyone to hear us talking to ourselves. They'll think we're crazy. Again."

"Good point. Let's go."

In a mist of green we were off to Japan for lunch, and we came out from behind the school acting like nothing had happened, chatting the rest of the lunch bell. All in all, it was a good day.


	6. Pool Party

There was a knock on the wall of my room, so I turned it invisible. It was Tabby wide eyed and grinning like a kid on Christmas as she looked at my room. I made the wall intangible and she fell through and stumbled, looking back at the solid wall and grinning.

"That's handy."

"Hey Tabby, what's up?"

"It's time to pay up Z." I shut my book and glanced at Sally, she was cutting out a snowflake with her nails.

"Ah, so, where are we going?"

"The pool," Sally's head came up. She liked the pool "but that can wait. You owe me a lip lock."

"Uh, really Tabitha? I don't think you really want to kiss a dead guy do you?"

"You walk, you talk, you have a normal-ish body temp, and you're not rotting, you're fine by me."

"Uh, still, I'm not that good of a kisser."

"That's not what Rogue said."

"And how would you know that?"

"Kitty." I'm going to kill her. "Now stop stalling and plant one on me."

"Kiss kiss?" Sally asked

"Uh, no Sally, I uh-"

"Hey Sally girl! Keep his arms behind his back and we can play together at the pool!" Sally's face lit with a thousand watt smile and she flew in front of Tabby's face

"Really?"

"Really." Tabby nodded

"Yay!"

"Hey!" she can't do that "You can't turn her against me!" Sally pinned my arms behind me

"I think I just did Z, now pucker up!"

"He-mmmmmmm!" and thus I was forced to make out with Tabitha...okay so 'forced' isn't exactly accurate...okay so I enjoyed it...a lot. She's good at this. Plus she's a hot blonde. When she needed air again she leaned back, breathing hard, a happy smile on her face.

"One more minute. Sally let go of his arms."

"Still play at pool?"

"Still play at pool."

"Okay." she let go of my arms and they went around Tabitha, bringing her closer to me, pressing our bodies together, my hands caressing her back. My tongue went along her bottom lip asking for entrance, and she gave it, letting out tongues dance in each others mouths. Erhrm...yeah. Eventually she needed air again.

"Wow, you're good at that."

"Thanks, I've had practice."

"Who was the lucky girl?" Sam.

"I'd rather not talk about it." my mood just plummeted

"Z?"

"Get out for a second and let me put my swim suit on." There's a thump against my wall. Curious, two visitors in one day? I make the wall invisible to see, Jubilee and Bobby making out. Against my wall. Ew, I just cleaned that wall. I thump my hand on the wall making them jump and break apart, looking around. They freak for a second when they see the wall gone. I bring Tabby and Sally through the wall "Excuse me, but could you not do that right in front of my room?" They blush and Tabitha laughs

"What are you doing here!" Jubilee demands

"That was my room you were making out against. Speaking of rooms, get one. Or at least don't make out right against mine okay?"

"Well, what was Tabitha doing in your room?" asked Bobby

"Inviting me to the pool."

"Wait, where's the door?"

"There isn't one."

"How do you get in then?"

"Phasing, teleportation, or the fourth story window if you're really determined. Of course you could knock the wall down but I'd rather you didn't."

"Wait, so you get super privacy?" asked Jubilee

"Hardly, I share the room with Sally, Kitty or Kurt could pop in at any time and there are two other telepaths living here. I just don't have a door is all."

"Hmm, good point," said Tabby "but hardly anyone comes up here."

"That's the point...wait, Tabs, how did you even know which wall to knock on?"

"I didn't, Kitty said she and Kurt were in your room once and it was on the fourth floor, somewhere around here. I spent the last ten minutes knocking on walls and talking to no one trying to find you."

"Tabby."

"Yeah Z?"

"You could have asked Jean or the professor to contact me. Also, I have a phone in my room. The number is on the list, just like everyone else's."

"Oh, but still, now I know where I can find you if I ever need a place to crash, right?" Oh great. I look around and...

"Hey, where did the other two go?"

"Maybe they went to find a room like you said."

"If anything happens it's going to end up my fault somehow."

"Just get your suit on and come on down, there's a full on pool party waiting."

"Does this count as one of the trips?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to come then yes."

"Okay, okay. Be down in five."

"Great, I'll go tell everyone else that you're coming. We can't wait forever you know."

"Yeah yeah. Sally, go play with Tabby okay?"

"Okay." she kissed my nose, giggled then flew off to play with Tabitha. I'm not sure which one of them was the bad influence.

"C'mon Danny, take it off!"

"No."

"Take it off!"

"No."

"Pleaaaase? For me?"

"No."

"You're no fun!" Tabitha fumed for a minute _JEAN!_

*Ow, what Tabitha?*

_Get Danny to take his inducer off!_

*Why?*

_Because he won't and I want everyone to look at him!_ I interupted them

*You _do_ know I can hear you when you shout like that, right Tabitha?*

*Danny, why don't you just take your inducer off? It's not that big a deal, everyone accepts how Kurt looks.*

_Yeah Z, just take it off! Let loose!_

*I actually think Tabitha might be right Danny, hiding isn't that healthy for your mind. Or your stress levels.*

_And that thing's not waterproof either. Think of all the _accidents_ that could happen around the pool._

_*_You two are mean, y'know that? Fine, but when all the questions start flying I'm blaming you two.* Tabitha mentally high fived Jean and called Rogue and Amara over

"What is it Tabitha?" Amara asked

"Yah, what's so gosh darn important?" Tabitha grinned

"Ladies, what you're about to see, will shock, and amaze you. Prezenting...ZOMBIE BOY!" With that announcement Tabitha ripped not only my watch off, but some how my shirt too. Amara blushed and Rogues eyes got a little wider. "Pretty freaky right?" Tabitha was refering to my scars, which shee didn't know I was keeping invisible at the moment.

"Yah called us ovah here ta tell us Danny works out?"

"What? No, the _scars_, look at the _scars!_"

"What scars?" asked Amara

"What do you mean what-" now she spotted me "Danny! Stop it! The whole point of me taking your inducer off was so that everyone could see what you really look like!"

"He looks different than this?"

"Yah don't look like Kurt or somthing do you?" I shook my head

"I don't look like curt, but I take more time to get used to." That got their attention. At the same time Kitty walked by and misheard

"OH MY GOD! DANNY LOOKS LIKE KURT?

"NO!" but by now everyone was gathering "I don't look like Kurt!" I raised my wrist "See? I don't have my inducer on!"

"Wait, you don't look any different from when you _do_ have it on. Why do you even have one in the first place?" Evan. I'm going to get him back for that, I swear I will.

"Yeah, that's a good point." Says Jubilee. And now re-enter Tabitha the Troublemaker.

"He doesn't look any different because he's projecting an illusion around himself to look normal." My list of people to get has just doubled. I groan.

"Tabithaaaa!"

"Dude, just show us, it can't be zhat bad can it?" Kurt, you freaking elf I will kill you.

"Easy for you to say." I muttered under my breath. "Fine, if you can guess what I look like I'll show you."

"Do you normally look like this?" asked Jubilee. I nodded and people began shouting things out.

"Mole person!"

"Different colored skin!"

"You're realy a girl!" I smacked Bobby's head for that one

"You glow in the dark!"

"Horribly disfigured by Acid!"

"Scaley skin and a-"

"STOP!" I shouted "Back up, who said the acid thing?" Sam raised his hand "You read too many comic books." With that I let all of my acid wounds become visible and there was murmering. Face, chest, arms, neck, stomach, back, legs, foot. Amara stepped forward

"Your chest..." she traced a line going down my acid scarring "This other scar on top of it, this was caused by a sword, I have seen this many times."

"Let's hear it for blade edge wounds." I said dryly and let those show as well. Face, arms neck shoulder, legs, ear, feet, hands, stomach, back.

"That looks like someone stitched along the edge of your arm man." Evan, he had some of the same wounds from when he went skating I guess.

"Yup." my voice is quiet, I don't know why it hurts to share though. "Broken bones that broke through my skin." Arms, legs ribs, clavical, fingers.

"Th..." Amara hesitated "This one," she pointed to the edge of one of my acid burns "it's different, it was caused by fire, not any chemical." I didn't say anything, just let them come into view. Everywhere practically.

"Okay," I croak "that's enough for today."

"Danny." Jean. Damn her. "You need to let it out. You need to tell them. Not what heppened, just...what they are, what you haven't shown them."

"I hate you right now."

"I know, but you don't really." Damn her...why is she always so right? "Show them." Sigh.

"Gunshots." fade in "Stabings, by something other than a blade." fade in "Claws." fade in "Bites." fade in "Th...throaght slashed." Head tilts and fade in "Chunks missing." fade in "Shrapnel." fade in "Parts cut off and re-attatched." wiggle fingers, fade in "Skin torn off." fade in "Impalement." fade in "V...vi..." I shudder, then, quietly I whisper "Vivisection." fade in "Lazer burns." fade in "Crucifiction." fade in "The funny thing about that one is that when Walker used to shout that he'd crucify me, I thought he was being figurative." I laugh weakly, and no one is saying anything. They're just...stareing. "And that's why I cover them up." I make them all invisible again and walk away

"Danny! Don't!" It's Jean "You live here, you shouldn't have to hide yourself." I...I shouldn't. I let my scars re-appear. From behind me comes.

"You look like shit."

"Hi Logan."

"What happened?" I sigh and without looking at him I say

"My job. It's too much Logan, just...too much." He grunts his understanding. We're better friends now. Not for any real reason, but we are. Guy thing.

"Uh, Danny," Amara "what did you used to do...you know, your job that got you that hurt?" I look at them...at all of them. They want to know, not for any bad reasons I think. I smile as I see Sally splashing in the pool, without a care in the world. Before I walk off I say

"I was Danny Phantom." Fade out.


	7. Family

Fading from sight after giving one answer that brings up like a bajillion questions. Unecessary? Yes. Dramatic? Very much so. Fracking awesome exit? _Hellz_ yes. Somewhat ruined however when Sally noticed I was gone, started crying for her 'Dan-dan' and was summarily picked up invisibly and flewn through the sky like an airplane so she would stop crying? Yeah, kinda. BUT STILL! For those first ten seconds I had the shock and awe thing goin' on. Now...I'm playing patty cake with Sally. And then She asks-

"Do I have a family?" I stopped for a second...did she? I think _I'm_ her family...but what about _my_ family? What about...hmmm. "Danny? Why did you stop?"

"I think...well, I like to think of you as my daughter. What do you think of me as?"

"Well, I know you're not my _real_ dad, but I think of you like that. Do I have other family?"

"Yes...you do. You have an Aunt Jasmine, but I just call her Jazz. I have a clone I call my cousin, but you could probably just call her Aunt Danielle, but she likes being called Dani, with an 'i'. My parents...your grandparents...they don't know about me...they think I ran away."

"Why?"

"Because...I ran away."

"Why?"

"Because...someone I loved very much was going to do something very bad to me...so I had to leave."

"It wasn't auntie Jazzy or auntie Dani was it?"

"No, it was my best friend...and my girlfriend."

"Oh...are there other nice people?"

"Yes, there are. There's the Dragon Queen Dorathea, and Pandora, a thirty foot tall greek ghost with four arms who guards a box full of all the bad things that used to be in the world."

"But aren't there bad things now?"

"Yes, but those are new bad things, these are old bad things, bad things that we don't have today because she guards her box."

"Oh...ok."

"Then there's Frostbite and the Far Frozen, they're a bunch of yetis with ice powers, and then there's Kitty-"

"Kitty's a ghost?"

"No, this is a different Kitty, she's really nice to me and has a tough looking boyfriend who's kind of a jerk, but really nice to her."

"But that sounds just like our Kitty." she said confused. Now that I think about it...was it the name? Was it a huge coincedence? Either way it's kind of funny.

"You know, you're absolutely right." she beams at me. Maybe we should introduce them some day? "But thay _are_ different. Anyways, there's also a big black furred werewolf named Wulf who can use his claws to open ghost portals, they're more like tears, but still. Last, but not least, is Clockwork. The ghost Master of Time. He knows everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Even the stuff I don't tell anybody about?"

"Even the stuff you don't tell anybody about. He knows about it even before you think about doing it." her eyes went wide "He knows _everything_."

"So he knows what I'm gunna get for my hatch-day?"

"Uh-huh."

"Woooow."

"Yeah, but he never tells anybody. It's his job to fix really big problems and never tell anybody anything that could affect the timestream." she frowned

"So he can tell us stuff that's not important but not stuff that is?"

"Yeah, it's really annoying, but he _does_ give us clues to help us out and stuff. He never lets anything too bad happen, and if he does, it's because something really good is going to happen afterwards."

"Why not just have all the good stuff happen and none of the bad?"

"Without the bad stuff, sometimes there would be no good stuff."

"I'm confused."

"Don't worry, you'll get it eventually, and if you don't, well it probably wasn't that important anyway."

"Daniel! That's no way to raise a child!"...okay...I'm in my room...with no doors...so survey says...window. I turn my head and Ororo is flying into my room through, my window. "You must work hard for understanding in all things, and especially in understanding others."

"Yeah, she's actually right about that."

"Actually right? How often am I wrong?"

"Not too often." she smiles brightly at Sals

"Hello Sally." after a small hug Sally starts making a pillow fort. Why do we have that many pillows in our room? To make pillow forts with. Why else? "Not too often indeed Daniel. The others are worried for you." her eyes catch on my scars and her eyes try to hide empathy. She knows I don't want pity, but she just cares so much, it's just who she is. "Are you all right?" I sigh

"Yeah, I'm fine, just...memories I guess. I already had one big reveal at school, I kinda didn't want to even worry about it at home, y'know?"

"I know child, I know." she appraised me for a minute "You are truly fine?"

"Not really, but for me not really being fine _is_ fine on days when you just _remember_ everything."

"I understand." She gets this look in her eyes and I think she _does_ understand. She's got a past too. She was just smart enough not to get so many scars as me. "Tabitha wanted me to remind you that 'the trip is both ways, so you have to come back down eventually.' Then she said something I would rather not repeat."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

"I'd rather you didn't." Just like that I was laughing again.

"Thanks Ororo." she smiles

"My pleasure Daniel." she gestures to my wall "Do you think you could...?"

"Oh yeah, no problem."

"But O-ro!" Sally protested "You haven't even looked inside my fort!" Ororo smiled at Sally. It was kinda hard not to. Ororo bent at the waist, knees together and slightly bent with her hands on her knees for support.

"But I don't have the password. How can you let me in if I don't know it?"

"I could tell it to you!"

"You could? My, thank you dear." Sally was bouncing up and down, making the whole fort jiggle. "But how about this, tonight, you can have a sleep over in my room and we can make our own fort. How does that sound?" Sally's eyes lit up and she burst from the fort, pillows flying everywhere.

"Really O-ro? Really?" a pillow fell back down and bopped her on the head, she had the cutest little confused face on. It took all of my manly pride not to right there break down and go 'Awwwwwww'. It was close but I managed. Ororo laughed and replied

"Yes child, really." She got a hug for that.

"Pinky promise?" Ororo holds out her pinky

"Pinky promise." they shake pinkies and Sally laughs and flies out the window.

"Be careful!" I call out behind her "Che, kids."

"You're too young to talk like that. You yourself are but a child."

"Yeah, but I'm a merry old soul." Sarcasm, to the rescue!

"Now can you let me out of your room?"

"Yeah, sure, where to?"

"The library please." I put my hand on her shoulder and in a whips of green we were there

"Do you go to the library a lot?"

"Not usually, but I'm picking up a few books for Jean. She is entering into a psychology program with the top five juvenile psychologists. Fresh from their second year of advanced courses. They form the next five leaders of 'The Young Psychologists' Organization'."

"TYPO? Really?"

"Despite the...odd name, they are a promising organization. Jean is going to be joining them as one of the five, the other four shall be coming here, to Bayville, and will be staying for...about a month."

"Psychologists huh?"

"Yes, is something the matter?"

"No, it's just that my sister had a thing for psychology, it was annoying for a while. She could just look at my face and immediately figure out what it was I was thinking or hiding. When I asked her how she always knew she said it was 'Simple deduction based on the facts. That and how much I know you little brother.'"

"You miss her."

"Of course, she was only ever looking out for me. She loved me, no matter what."

"That's what family does Daniel."

"Not always, I was lucky to have her. I could have been a lot less lucky." sigh "I miss her, I wonder what she's doing about now."

* * *

"Jaaazz, honey, it's time to get ready to go! You don't want to miss your flight do you?"

"No, mom! I'll be down in a few minutes!"

"Don't take too long, you'll miss your grammar meetings!"

"For the last time mom, it's TYPO! 'The Young Psychologists' Organization'!"

"Just make sure you have your tickets and call us the minute you land in Bayville!"

"Okay mom!" Jazz went downstairs with her suit-cases, one for clothes, one for her books and one for her ghost hunting equipment. "Is the cab here?"

"It's right outside Jazz." Maddie held Jazz's shoulders for a moment, looking at her "We're so proud of you Jazz. We know Danny would be too."

"Are you kidding mom? He'd scoff and tell me _I_ need to visit a shrink to see what's wrong with _me_. Then he'd freeze up and run out of the room with some lame excuse." both girls laugh at how true that was "But he's be here when it counted. He always was."

"Yes, he was wasn't he?" Maddie and Jazz sighed a moment but were jolted by the honking of a car horn outside. "You better go dear."

"Okay." They hugged "I love you mom."

"I love you too dear."

"DAD! I'M LEAVING!" she called to the basement

"REMEMBER TO BRING BACK SOME FUDGE! AND CALL US IF THERE'S A GHOST!" They rolled their eyes. The two Fenton women loaded the three suitcases into the cab and stood outside of the doors embracing one last time.

"Bye mom."

"Bye Jazz, call us when you land."

"Okay." Jazz got in the cab, hanging out the back window as she the cabbie drove out of sight."BYYYYYE MOOOOOM!"

"BYYYYYE JASMINE!" Maddie sighed as the cab turned a corner "I'll miss you. Just please come back to us." Lingering on that statement for a moment she sighed and went back inside the building, wishing for both of her children back, as soon as possible. "Please come back."


	8. They Really Get Around

It was the next day, a Friday, that I knock on the large wooden doors leading to Xavier's office "Excuse me, Professor Xavier?" he looks up from his...whatever he does

"Yes Daniel?"

"I was uh, I was just going to let you know that I was going to go to the ghost zone, so, if you look for me with Cerebro, don't freak out when you can't find me, because I still exist."

"I see. How long do you think you will be gone?"

"I can't really say, it should only be for a few hours or a day or something, but time flows differently in the zone. Sometimes it goes faster, sometimes slower, sometimes it goes in reverse or doesn't move at all. I'm sure if I asked Clockwork he'd-" I stop in the middle of my sentence as suddenly there's a piece of paper taped to my face.

"Daniel?" the professor asks. I pulled it off and read it aloud.

"_Danny, I'm not your personal taxi. If you want to learn how to operate the medallion or my time portals I would be happy to teach you, some other time. For now just wear the medallion and time will flow as it should for you. -Clockwork_"

"There's more on the other side Daniel." I flip it over and sure enough.

"_The dark without, the light within, look true to clear the din,_

_What acted once, be not acted twice, the answer lies therein,_

_Hold heart to one and hand to second, bring death's touch to skin,_

_When Heart twist in two and chase itself, look toward western Kin,_

_Answer sought and answer found, to wait be should be your sin,_

_When moment brought and feelings bare a kiss will slay chagrin.  
_

_-Clockwork_

_P.S. -don't forget the last line."_

I blink, having a brief moment of 'what the hell?' before I hear a chuckle and look up

"Your friends certainly are interesting Daniel." the professor's grinning for some reason. I narrow my eyes.

"Do you know what this is supposed to mean?" he just grins some more

"I have my suspicions, but I think it best for you to work it out by yourself for now and let everything play out as it will. I think all will be well, in due time." facepalm

"Great, now I'm getting Clockwork-esk cryptic-nes even when he's not here." he's still smiling so I grumble "Stop smiling, it's not funny." this seems to amuse him some more

"Of course not Daniel, enjoy your time in the Ghost Zone. If I should need to reach you?"

"Get Kurt or Kitty or someone who can fly to get into my room. On my bookshelf is one of those switches you always see in cartoons where you pull the book and the wall moves." the professor raised a brow at that "Yeah, I know, but seriously, it's hard to pass up a classic."

"And how exactly did you do such extensive work without our noticing?"

"I didn't, I just made a small intangibility generator and stuck it to the wall. It deactivates when the door opens, the heat signatures leave that side of the room or when a button is pushed on the other side. Oh and don't worry, unless the button is pushed the generator won't turn the wall solid through anyone. Anyways, there's a motorcycle in there that a ghost named Johnny Thirteen got for me for my birthday. It comes with a portable portal generator and it should be able to find me in the zone. Just press the button with my old logo on it and hang on."

"Interesting Daniel, I can certainly see why you would keep such a vehicle out of the garage where it may fall victim to the younger students' joy rides. And Tabitha's...unique brand of fun. Which book exactly is the trigger?" I smile and reply

"Why, the biography H. P. Lovecraft of course."

* * *

I went into my room and got my time medallion but I still had a stop to make before I went to the ghost zone. All I had to do now was go out and find her. Where could sh-oh, right there. I ran over and waved her down in the middle of the entryway

"Hey, Rogue!" she looked to see who was calling her name and groaned when she found out.

"Oh great, what do _you_ want?"

"Well, to sort of apologize...for kissing you. I shouldn't have just...y'know, so I'm sorry."

"Okaaaay." now she was stareing like she expected something else...oh yeah.

"And, I was wondering if you wanted to come visit the Ghost Writer with me."

"The who?"

"The Ghost Writer." she put her hand on her hip and cocked it to the side

"Ghost writer for who?"

"No, he's not _A_ ghost writer, he's _THE_ Ghost Writer." Rogue sighs exasperatedly then throws her hands into the air

"So? What's the difference?"

"Well," she rolls her eyes. I don't think she was really expecting an answer. "instead of writing for somebody in secret he writes for his own pleasure."

"Okay...so why would ah want to go visit him?"

"Well, you like books right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, he has a copy of everything everything ever written. Ever. New book just came out? He has it. First words ever written? He has those too."

"So...everything ah write in my diary?" I rub the back of my neck

"Well, yeah, he has that too, though he makes it a point not to go through stuff like that...too much." her eyes narrowed.

"Ah think ah just might like to pay him a visit." I clapped my hands together

"Great, so lets go." I called up my transformation rings and changed into Necro. I pulled down my hood but kept my mask back on. "So lets call Sally and then we're good to go." *Sally, we're going to visit the people I told you about. Come meet us.*

*But Dan-dan! I'm eatin' stuffs!*

*Want to bring it with you?*

*...*

*_Can_ you bring it with you? What are you eating?*

*Chocolate cake.*

"Chocolate cake?" Rogue leaned back and cocked her head

" 'Scuse me?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, Sally, somehow she got chocolate cake." I scratched my head

"I didn't know there _was_ any cake."

"Yeah, me neither." *Sally, where did you get the cake?*

*O-ro made it for me. She said it's 'cause I'm super cute.*

"*You _are_ cute.*" Rogue froze

"_Ex-cuse me?_" *Tee-hee.*

"Uh, that was for Sally." she crossed her arms

"So Ah'm not cute?"

"Uh..." she started to tap her foot. Think quick Fenton! "Jeep and Bike, Death and Life, between Kitty and Kitty with motor-head brown and motor-head blonde which who is whom and which whom belongs with who?" she closed her eyes and started to twitch

"W...what?" Sally flew over and landed on Rogue's head

"Hey Danny, can we go visit peoples now?" being very careful not to touch her directly, Rogue reached up and took Sally off and held her in her gloved hands where Sally immediately crouched down.

"Huh, she is pretty 'dorable." Sally began crawling around and ended up hanging upside down on one of Rogue's gloved fingers and immediately began swinging back and forth by one foot going 'Wheeee!'. Rogue's eye caught on something and her mouth quirked as she handed Sally to me. I held Sally by one of her legs lightly swinging her back and forth.

"What? What is it?"

"She uh," Rogue hid her mouth with her hand and turned away "she has some cake on the corner of her mouth." I looked and sure enough, there it was, so I licked my thumb and rubbed it off...ugh, parent things. I looked at Rogue "Hey thanks...Rogue? What's up?"

"Nothin'." Sally was on my arm now, walking back and forth before she walked over and leaned on my head

"No really, what's-" wait a second "Are you smiling?"

"No."

"You said that a little too quick."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did. You _are. You're smiling!_"

"Shaddup! No I'm not!"

"It's alright Rogue, you can smile, it's allowed."

"Shaddup and just do the stinkin' portal thing deadbeat." I smiled. She was smiling. She thought Sally was cute and she couldn't hide it. Sally hung down from my neck and dropped down onto a hand I held out for her. She dove into my chest, sinking into me and settling down.

*Hey, don't get too comfy, you'll have to wake up soon, okay?*

*Mnnhhhmmm, mmmmkaay.* I rolled my eyes knowing she's going to be asleep in sixteen seconds. I opened up the portal and extended my hand to Rogue.

"Are you ready?"

"How 'ready' do ah have to be for one house call?"

"Not just one."

"What?"

"The reason I'm going into the zone is to see my friends that I haven't in a year. They all live in really different places. Frostbite lives in a frozen wasteland leading his clan of yeti. Kitty and Johnny always move around going on dates. The Ghost Writer lives in a library. Pandora lives on a floating Greek Isle guarded by a labyrinth and mythological Greek monsters. Queen Dorathea lives in a medieval castle and is doted upon by her subjects. She does have an evil brother in the dungeon though. Dani Phantom...well, Clockwork can probably find her. I haven't seen her in forever." my head hangs under the weight of my depression. I miss her so much. "I hope she's alright."

"There's another one of y'all named Danny Phantom? Isn't that confusing?"

"Well...to be honest it gets more confusing, but for now let's just call her Dani with an 'i'."

"You better explain _everything_ once we're in that Ghost place."

"Ghost _Zone_."

"Whatever!" I roll my eyes and open a swirling vortex of green and extend my hand to her

"You ready?" she nods and takes my hand, and we step through.

* * *

"It wasn't _that_ funny." I sulk. Rogue smirked.

"Yah made an entire tribe of giant dead snow beasts afraid for their aftah lives. They all ran screamin' as soon as they knew you were there. Ah think that's pretty funny." I throw my hands up in exasperation

"It was just an accident when I was new to my ice powers!" she just leans on her wall and crosses her arms

"Uh-huh. Well, apparently it was a _memo__rable_ accident." I deflate. She's not going to let this go.

"You won't tell anyone will you?"

"Nah, I won't," she points behind me "but Kitty probably will." I turn to see a ponytail retreating through the wall.

"KITTYYYY!" I immediately run off after her and I could have sworn I heard Rogue giggle just before I went through the wall.

* * *

It was Monday now, a school day and Rogue was very happy. She frequently asked me to go into the zone, simply because she made some friends she doesn't have to worry about killing there. It was kind of annoying, I understood, yes, but it was still annoying. I was at my locker, ignoring everybody stareing at me when someone spoke

"Hey." I turned to see...blue. BLUE. She was about my height and looked at me curiously as I did her because...she was blue, not her skin, that was pale but...everything else. Her hair went down to her armpits in a braid on one side and was dark electric blue, a contradiction, I know but...the only way I could describe it. Even her eyebrows were that same blue. She had cerulean frames for her rectangular glasses, navy eye-shadow, blue lipstick, ocean blue snake bites and dark navy nails. She wore a baggy black and blue hoodie, a white circle in the center with blue sides and sleeves but a black body, separated on each side by a thin white strip. She also had a knee length blue pleated skirt, knee high striped light and dark blue knee socks on and, wait for it, dark blue kicks with blue laces.

"Blue...I mean, Danny, I'm Danny, who are you?"

"Sharandra." then she unceremoniously reached out and started to fiddle with my watch

"HEY! Stop that! What are you doing!" she actually looked up at me with her eyes, blue, almost like my own when I use my ice powers, and stared for a second

"I want to know how it works." she then went back to fiddling with it.

"Hey! Stop for a minute!" she sighed and looked back up at me, annoyance plain on her face

"What?"

"You could ask you know, I'm sure the professor would be more than happy to explain it to you if you asked politely and didn't go destroying my watch!"

"But the watch is just a screen on top that you flip up, I'm looking at the device under your watch." she promptly went back to fiddling with it.

"Will you _quit_ that!" I finally managed to tear my arm away but I saw several components in her hands already. I looked at my watch to see it gutted and flickering before a puff of smoke comes out and I can see my scars again. I'm in the middle of school so I can't just make them invisible. Crap. Today was going to suck. Sharandra is looking at me from behind her glasses.

"They said you were horribly disfigured, but words don't do it justice. You're incredibly creepy looking. It's weird to see people with lines on them and bits missing. And your burns are really smooth." I growl and glare at her before snatching the parts back.

"Yeah, thanks." she smiled at me, a genuine smile.

"You're welcome. That's the first time anyone's ever said that to me you know, 'thank you'. It's been the first time I've been able to say 'you're welcome' so...thank you, for thanking me." she smiled and bowed at the waist. I arched an eyebrow

"Uh, sure, no problem." she came back up, still smiling.

"Goodbye."

"Uh, bye Sharandra." but she was already gone. "Okay, that was...weird." I get my books under my arm and close my locker heading to my first class of the day, thinking about what I would tell the professor about my watch. Maybe I could just close it and say I fixed it or something? Nah, they wouldn't believe I'm that smart.

"FENTON!" I stopped in my tacks, a mean smile making its way across my face, causing several people to back up even further than they already were.

"Ah, the sound of a prank well done." I started walking again, trying to imagine Dillon's face when he saw the jar of pickles in his locker.

* * *

"FENTON!" Jazz looked up and around the silent library, brushing her hair behind her ear, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise.

"Yes?" she looked around, just to be sure. Jazz checked the two people beside her. "Robert, Horace, did you hear someone call me just now?" Robert was a small boy, Jazz thought, with orange blonde curls almost seeming cherubic on his head, he didn't even look up from his book. Horace, an Egyptian american, stood at six foot seven, possessed both a voice deeper and a skin darker than anyone else she have ever known, looked up from his drawing and ran his hand over his smooth head and asked

"Did you say something Jasmine?"

"Jazz. And I guess that answers my question. Sorry to bother you."

"It was no problem Jasmine." he went back down to his piece of paper so I shrugged and looked to my book only for a new voice to interrupt

"Hey everybody, I found her!" Jazz looked up to see...someone who could possibly her twin or older self, she was escorting a blue girl...blue didn't even begin to describer her she was...RAINBOWBRIGHT Blue. All the shades of blue and...BLUE.

"Jean Grey and Sharandra Felle?" Jazz asked. The two boys finally looked up from their activities, Horace with a curious analytical smile on his face, like he was going to test out a theory, and Robert like he just saw something distasteful. He had quite a superiority complex for an eight year old.

"Yes. Sharandra was causing trouble for a friend of mine. He's going to have a hard day now." Jean shot a meaningful look to Sharandra that was ultimately lost on her.

"I just wanted to see how it worked." she defended

"You could have just asked instead of breaking it. He's been through enough, he doesn't need anybody stareing at him any more than they already do." Sharandra shrugged

"He shouldn't hide, it's not good for the mind. He'll get a complex." Jean was exasperated and Sharandra sat down at the table and immediately locked onto Jazz's blue head band. "I like your head band."

"Um, thanks." Sharandra beamed. Two people thanking her in one day? It really _was_ a good day.

"Don't just change the subject!" Jean said "Complex or not, you broke his inducer and now he'll get in trouble with the professor."

"Blame it on me. And really, a professor shouldn't encourage behavior so deceitful and unhealthy."

"It wasn't deceitful. He told anyone who asked what he looked like! He just didn't want any un-due attention."

"It's not un-due, it's because he's horribly scarred and has a temper."

"Who are you talking about?" interrupted Jazz. As soon as Jean saw her it was like looking into the past. This girl looked just like she did when she was younger.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm Jean Grey."

"Jasmine Fenton." Jean froze up and her face lost some of its color before she regained herself.

"F...Fenton? As in family of ghost hunters Fenton?" Jazz sighed

"Yes," Oh my god, this was Danny's _sister_ "but I have no obsessions or delusions. I solved my problems long ago." Jazz stated confidently, then she frowned sadly "Well, I did, before..." she trailed off into a memory "It doesn't matter right now, I'm coming to terms with it, and in a healthy way." Jean seemed to shake herself and tremble for a moment "Jean are you alright? You look...as if you had a frightening epiphany. Is everything alright?"

"I..." by now everyone was stareing at Jean

*Jean?* Jean jumped

*Hold on Danny.*

"Jumpy much?" asked Robert in his usual smug tone of voice

"Yeah, I just...I just realized I forgot something, and...then my back twitched. It scared me for a second. Just, go on, I did't get to go to the bathroom before I went looking for Sharandra. I'll be back in five minutes." So saying, she left the library and let Danny into her mind

*Jean, what's up? You seriously freaked out for a bit there. Is everything ok?*

*I saw something, and it triggered a memory. One of _your_ memories actually.* Jean felt the equivalent of Danny's mental Grimace

*Well, which one? You got pretty shaky there. You're still kinda shaky.*

*You...once told me that you miss your sister.*

*Yeah, I do. She was my only true friend in everything. She was pushy and overbearing and overprotective...and loyal and caring and she loved me very much.*

*How would you feel about seeing her again?*


	9. Crumble

How would I feel about seeing her again? I'd love to. I think that between her, Valarie and my parents, I'm not sure who I miss the most. How do I feel? I want it…I want it so bad…but…

*I can't Jean. You know that. The risk is too high, I mean, what if I run into someone _else_ I know? I…I can't.*

*Danny?*

*Ja?*

*What would you do if you just…saw her?*

*Run the other way probably. Why?*

*Why would you run away? Don't you want to see her again?*

*You _know_ I do Jean, but you also know what they did to me, why I can never risk going back.*

*But Danny, if yo-*

*NO! Jean! I can never put my family at risk again! They were at risk just being _near_ me, and that was without the GIW knowing who I was! I'm sorry Jean I just, I can't. I just can't. As much as I might want to, I can _never_ go back. I…I'm sorry I yelled at you Jean, but, not right now. I gotta go.*

Jean tried to respond but came up against an iron-clad defense. He _really_ wanted to be alone right now.

Danny sighed, why couldn't things be simple for once in his life? Just _once_. He'd been trying to put it all behind him, but with Jean looking the way she did, and then her bringing his sister up like that…was it any wonder he couldn't forget? He would never truly forget, but he didn't want to live with the pain either, the hurt, the constant ache of what was and will never be again. Why did she have to bring it up just now? Why? _Why_? WHY!...things were quieter now...why? He looked up and everyone was staring at him, a little surprised and a _lot_ freaked. Why were they…they weren't looking at him, they were looking at his desk, which he now looked at as well. It was broken in half. He didn't even realize it but he had gotten up and smashed his fist down a and broken it, and bent the metal a good portion too. He looked to his trig teacher.

"I-I'm sorry ma'am. I'll pay for the desk, but I think I need to be excused." She nodded slightly

"Very well Mr. Fenton, when you calm down, I would like you to visit the principal's office, but for now you are excused. I will be mentioning this later and making a call to the institute you realize."

"Yes ma'am." He said, under his breath, a lost look in his eyes. He gathered his stuff and loaded it into his pack, a glazed over look on his face. He absentmindedly made his way to the window, and opened it up and sat on the window sill.

"Mr. Fenton? Mr. Fenton what are you doing?" he tipped backwards "Mr. Fenton NO!" she screamed and tried to rush over to him, but she just couldn't catch him. He was going to die. He was just going to kill himself right there. How…why…why? She was still rushing to the window, the rest of the class following, when she saw what happened. His feet came up, followed by the rest of his body, arcing diagonally away from the building, his hands slightly scraped from the push off. His body twisted in mid air, turning as he was on a collision course with the light post, but he did not crash into the post, he caught it behind his knees. His momentum swung him up until his knees could not hold him any longer, but then his hands, they reached out and grabbed the horizontal bar as he swung around again, like an Olympic gymnast. His legs stuck out straight and he came full circle, swinging around again, like he was on a swing, and he launched himself into the air once more, rolling in a back flip, three times, before he came to a stop on the hood of a red convertible with white stripes. The car came dangerously close to the ground, even as his knees bent to absorb some of the force, but he wasn't finished there. He turned, still crouched, and swung himself over the windshield and into the driver's seat. He disappeared from view a few seconds and his classmates just stared on in shock, but they were soon brought out of it by the sound of Scott's car roaring to life and, seconds later, taking off at speeds that made the tires screech and were surely illegal. He'd been gone from their line of sight for barely a moment before someone asked the obvious.

"Did he just steal Scott's car?" the answer was a thump as their teacher passed out.

* * *

Danny...was kinda depressed. He didn't feel like...being, today, so he shut down to wallow in his self pity. Yeah, kind of _really_ lame, but he didn't care. He had talked to Jean, she knew how he felt, he told her things that he hadn't told anyone else, he had bared his soul to her. Why would she ask that? _Why_ would she ask that. It's not possible, so why would she bring it up? Why make him _remember_? He just didn't understand. So he shut down. He felt like he was falling apart. Save the world? No problem, even with one hand tied behind his back. Save the time stream and play god with reality changing items? That's a regular Wednesday. Be hunted by the government and hated by the people even as he put his existence on the line for them? Yawn. But if you asked him about his family now, he would just crumble. He didn't know how long it was, all he knew was that all of a sudden, Tabitha was sitting next to him...well, _on_ him, and she was pretending to drive the car making 'vroom-vroom' noises. And then she honked the horn, in a small enclosed place that echoed.

"So Z...wanna tall me why you pulled a Spider-man back there? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice to look out of your first period window and see one of your friends pull off some acrobatics then steal a car, but why didn't you invite me? I've always wanted to joy-ride in Scott's baby, but I never had anyone brave enough to do it with, and really, what's a joy ride without someone to pin the blame on?" Danny started to come out of his funk.

"If you touch my motorcycle I'll leave you in Mormon country." she looked at him then

"You have a motorcycle?"

"Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 modified to run on dual gasoline and ectoplasm engines. Keeps the engine cooler, and adds more of a kick to it, not to mention an extra sixty-four miles per hour. Comes out to a top speed of around two hundred and fifty miles per hour." if he had been thinking, he _never_ would have told _her_ that. She would be almost as bad as Logan.

"You _gotta_ let me try that out!" he shook his head

"Wouldn't work for you, it draws ectoplasm from the rider to refill the tank, meaning _me_. And as a sorta anti-theft thing, it only works for authorized energy signatures. You're not on the list."

"I'm sure I could hot-wire it."

"Unless you're a genius, you'd just blow up." she sat up just a tiny bit straighter and looked him in the eye

"Did you just call me dumb?"

"No, just not an ecto-chemist and not an ecto-physicist." she scrunched up her face

"A what and a what now?"

"Exactly." she shrugged

"Whatever, I'm sure I could get it out of you." then she looked at his watch "Hey, it's almost lunch time, wanna race back? You take your bike and I take Scott's car?" He smiled at her then.

"Well, he _does_ need his car back. I guess we should return it to him." Tabitha smiled one of her trademark trouble smiles

"Now, that's more like it!"

* * *

The idyllic serenity surrounding the mansion disappeared as, from a wall on the between the second and third floors, a motorcycle sped through the wall, miraculously not damaging it, and the lone occupant, with a Hichigo Hollow Mask style helmet let out a whoop of joy.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

K-K-KATHNK-NRNGGGN-SCREEEEEEEEEAAAACHHH was the sound of the motorcycle hitting the pavement and coming around in a circle, screeching to a stop in front of the garage.

"Wow, you sure are one for dramatic entrances and exits, aren't you?" Danny flipped up his visor and grinned,

"Shut up and lets race, I'll even give you a ten second head start."

"Oh, it's on now. 3-2-1-GO!" Scott's car was later seen squealing down the road to the school with a fast black silver and green motorcycle following soon after.

* * *

"I received a report of vandalism from you Mr. Fenton, so explain to me what you were doing, stealing, then racing Mr. Summers' car. And just _where_ did you get the motorcycle?"

"Well, Scott lets me drive his car if I let him drive my bike, and I just had to get out and calm down. I had to calm down. I'm sure you've heard the rumor that I got all these scars in fights, and it's true, but they weren't my fault. I got in a lab accident and it gave me this scar." he pointed to one that ran vertical over his eye, making him look like Scar from the Lion King. "Then people just started to go at me. I think it was the whole 'He looks tough, I want to prove I'm tougher.' mentality. My mom trained me in self defense." Danny smiled for half of a second "Then, as more and more fights happened, I got more and more scars. Sometimes they tried to light me on fire or stab me or, just break my bones." The principal was looking on in horror "But I never gave up, I was always afraid of what they would do if I actually lost." he pretended to shiver there "So I kept on fighting, and I kept on winning, and I kept on getting scars and a reputation.' he paused and licked his lips "But, I also got nightmares. I mean, you get cut up a couple dozen times and you're gonna have nightmares...but there was the fire, and the pipes, and broken glass...I've even been shot a couple of times." Danny tried to smile this time and it just came out as a grimace. "I met Jean in the hallway after Sharandra broke my watch. It's just, looking at my scars, and seeing how people were reacting, Jean tried to get me out of my funk, but she got me thinking and...I didn't even realize I had broken the desk. I was just, so angry at myself. I screwed up in my parent's lab and then all these fights happened, I could have tried to walk away, I could have called the cops, but I didn't I tried to talk him down, and I lost my temper and I fought! It cost me my friends, my family sent me away so that I could get help...I...I'm just so angry at myself, and sometimes my temper gets the best of me. I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to unload it all on you, and I _will_ pay for the desk and accept any punishment you deem necessary." The principal looked at him for a moment before he sighed

"I don't think that's necessary Daniel." Danny hid his smirk

"Sir?" he asked with an innocent confused look on his face

"You said you'd pay for the desk and I think you're being harder on yourself than I would be so I don't think any punishment is needed this time. Get any missed work and be sure to study, and I think I can let you off with a warning this time." Principal Kelly tried gave an attempted 'friendly smile' and was about half way there.

"Thank you sir, I'll do better next time, and I won't break anything else sir." Danny got up and shook the principal's hand and made to leave

"Daniel?" Danny stopped and turned around, hand on the doorknob

"Sir?"

"Racing with Tabitha?" he rubbed the back of his head and tried to look sheepish, not too hard really.

"I had to get Scott's car back and I don't trust Tabitha not to mess with me when I'm driving, and I don't trust her on my bike either, so I let her drive Scott's car. Please don't be so harsh on her Principal Kelly, she just wanted to make sure I was alright, she was just trying to cheer me up." Principal Kelly sighed.

"Well, I suppose, but just this once. Now off to lunch with you." Danny smiled a 'genuine' smile and left with the words

"Thank you sir."

* * *

"How the hell do you do it Z?"

"Do what Tabs?" Danny opened up his yogurt and stuck his spoon in. Strawberry. Yum.

"How do you break a desk, jump out of a window, steal a car, skip school, drag race back to school and lie straight to the principal, and get 'I don't think any punishment is needed this time'. From him?" a passing Toad stopped and asked

"Wait a second, you did what now?" Danny and Tabitha turned to him, spoon hanging out of Danny's mouth.

"Danny punched his desk in half, made his teacher faint by jumping out of the second story window, hot wired Scott's car, and skipped school, raced back against me on his motorcycle while I drove Scott's car, and fed the principal the worst sob story I've ever heard, and got off scotch free, no punishment." Todd looked at Danny for a good ten seconds as he ate his yogurt, then fell to his knees and bowed, yelling

"TEACH ME OH MASTER!" Danny snorted and walked away.

* * *

"Danny did _what_, to my car?" Kitty, Kurt, Spike and Jean backed away from Scott as his face turned interesting colors. Tabitha smiled a Cheshire smile.

"He hot wired it, and let me race it back against his Kawasaki."

"I'm going to kill him." was all he said. Then he walked off, murder in his eyes, er, shades. Jean looked over to Tabitha

"Do you really think it was wise to tell him that?"

"Please!" Tabitha scoffed "I went on you tube to watch some of Danny's fight's back in Amity, He has nothing to worry about other than maybe accidentally maiming Scott if he doesn't back off his case." Jean looked doubtful_  
_

"Well, maybe _someone_ shouldn't have gotten him all depressed and junk." Evan butted in

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" jean protested, but Kurt, Kitty and Spike gave her disbelieving looks while Tabitha piped up

"What did she do now?"

"She started talking about his _family_."

"It was about his sister," Jean clarified "and I was just asking if he missed her and wanted to see her again!" they all looked at her as if she had proclaimed Scott had given his car away to Lance

"Vhy vould you ask him zhat?" demanded Kurt "Zhe X-men are pretty tight knit and a good foster family, but zhey could never replace mein own family."

"Yeah, I mean, I got auntie O and I lover her and all, but she's not my mom and dad."

"Yeah, like, why would you even go there? Didn't you have some sort of, like, mind meld thingie going on with him for a year or something?" Jean sighed and looked off into the distance

"I asked, because the four other members of TYPO were discussing estranged family members and family members lost to unfavorable circumstances." she sighed, looking off to where Scott had stormed, thinking of his little brother "It was a topic experienced by all members of the group, my cousin ran away and was never seen again." she said, it seemed to shock them all a bit "Horace lost his sister to a training exercise in the military, Robert's parent's were murdered, Sharandra was abandoned...and the last member of our group had a brother who ran away when he was betrayed two years ago. She's staying in town for the next month and will be attending meetings in the library three times a week for the next month before returning home. The last girl's name is Jasmine Fenton...she's Danny's sister." she let the information sink in before waiting for the outburst, but surprisingly it did not come from a mutant in front of her, but rather behind.

"WHAT?!" everyone turned to look at a shocked Rogue.

* * *

It had been two days from the point it was agreed upon to keep Danny's sister from him, at least until they got his feelings on it so they knew how to approach the situation, 'delicately'. The professor had been driving them all harshly, and the only one who didn't seem all that affected by it was Danny who had said he was used to getting no sleep for days at a time and fighting for around six to eight hours a day every day. Everyone else envied him his ability to go without much sleep. The professor refused to use Cerebro and instead insisted that Jean do it for her own lessons. Danny did spend more time talking with Wanda, but that was simply because she was now around the mansion, upon the professor's insistence of course and after hearing his reasoning for it, no one _ever_ wanted them to train together with their powers. They all still remembered Danny's nightmare. When he finally saw how ragged the others were and how hard the professor was driving them, he asked about any particular reason and received a brow beating about being more observant.

"We are going after Magneto Daniel." Danny cocked his head to the side and twirled Sally around him, trailing hell-fire while he thought. Well, it wasn't a _great_ idea, but it wasn't too terribly bad either, so he nodded.

"Okay, I can get on board with that, mind me asking why though?"

* * *

Amara was having a rough day, some snooty eight year old who had swallowed a dictionary had insulted her heritage and talked about her homeland like they were some back water rural ho-dunk inbred people. It made her angry, but she had a date tonight, she had picked the local, and the theme and her clothes just right to complement each other and now she was touching up her makeup, _just_ right, so she could watch him flounder when he saw _just_ how beautiful she could be when she chose, and of course he would have to pay for dinner. She was finishing her lipstick and had to do it, _just_ right. Less than perfection was _not_ acceptable. She was startled by a sudden cry that caused her to smear lipstick across her cheek.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WOLVERINE WAS ABDUCTED BY MAGNETO?!" she growled and her hair lit on fire, destroying hours of work.

She knew that voice. Daniel would pay.


End file.
